Water scarcity, population growth and internal conflicts are major reasons for food insecurity in Yemen, a recent report has said, warning if immediate action is not taken, food security will remain at extremely low levels until 2010 and the country will be vulnerable for external shocks and disasters.
The report issued by the Institute of Food Research (IFR) noted that food insecurity is higher in rural areas than in urban areas.
About 37.3 per cent of the people in the countryside against 17.7 per cent of the people in the urban areas suffer from food insecurity, it said, adding that two reasons were behind the different rates: water scarcity and the lack of rain.
Yemen was classified in 2009 as one of the driest countries in the world and with one of the world's highest rates of population.
Furthermore, the report revealed that 32.1 per cent of the Yemeni population has insufficient food to meet their requirements, placing Yemen among the ten world countries suffering from extreme food insecurity.
Officially, the Central Organization for Auditing and Control said Yemen has been facing constant decrease in crops production since 2007 due to internal conflicts, water dwindling and increasing qat cultivation.
Also, a Shura member said that 70 per cent of the arable land in Yemen is planted with qat and that Yemen imports 2.5 tonnes of wheat a year.
Yahya Al-Habari said immigration from the countryside to the cities are mainly blamed for deteriorating food security in the country. Owing to water scarcity, farmers move to the urban areas searching for jobs and then Yemen largely relies on imported corps, he added.