FOOD SECURITY STILL AN ISSUE FOR HUNGRY YEMENIS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000322

SIPDIS

NEA/ARP FOR ANDREW MACDONALD, USAID FOR NATHAN PARK, USTDA
FOR CARL KRESS, USDA FOR RON CROUSHORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/21/2019
TAGS: EAGR EAID ECON ETRD YM
SUBJECT: FOOD SECURITY STILL AN ISSUE FOR HUNGRY YEMENIS

REF: A. 08 SANAA 1599

B. 07 SANAA 2193

C. 07 SANAA 1343

D. 06 SANAA 2070


1. SUMMARY: Yemenis continue to suffer from high food
prices and a lack of homegrown food items. The Republic of
Yemen Government (ROYG) has responded in a limited and
ineffective way to issues of food security. The regional
donor response is uncertain, while the international donor
response is plagued by either deficient funding or a lack of
coordination with the ROYG.
YEMENIS SUFFER FROM HIGH PRICES, DEARTH OF FOOD

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2. Yemen continues to suffer from high food prices and a
dearth of homegrown staples. Over the last three years,
Yemenis have witnessed skyrocketing prices of basic food
items, and food prices have been steadily rising in Yemen at
least since 2006 (REF C). According to Gian Carlo Cirri,
representative of the UN World Food Program (WFP) in Yemen,
in 2007, food prices were 75% higher, while in 2008, food
prices were up 143%, reaching crisis levels. Cirri
characterized Yemen as one of the most food-insecure
countries in the world and certainly the most food-insecure
country in the Middle East.


3. Once an agriculturally self-sufficient country, Yemen now
imports the vast majority of its food. Cirri estimates that
Yemen imports 80% and produces only 15-20% of its overall
food need. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT)
estimates that as much as 90% of food is imported. Increased
importation of food is due, in part, to a population boom in
Yemen. The pervasive demand for qat, however, has encouraged
farmers to give up raising edible foodstuffs.
ROYG RESPONSE LIMITED, INEFFECTIVE
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4. Overall, the Republic of Yemen Government (ROYG) has had
a limited response to food security issues. Dr. Mohammed A.
al-Himiary, Food Advisor at the MOIT, told Econoff on
February 15 that food security is an old problem in Yemen.
Since the 1990s, the ROYG has approached food security by
subsidizing prices of commodities such as wheat, sugar, rice,
and grains. Six big traders, however, control the market,
importing more than 95% of food into Yemen. As a result, it
is difficult for the ROYG to measure market prices, assess
stability of food supply, and assure the operation of an open
market within Yemen.


5. (C) In response to rising food prices, the ROYG founded a
National Food Council in 2007 with limited success. (Note:
The Council is chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister for
Economic Affairs, Abdul-Karim al-Arhabi, and includes
representatives from both the public and private sectors.
End note.) Yet, according to Himiary, the MOIT, not the
National Food Council, took the lead in the ROYG response to
the food crisis in 2008 (REF A). (Comment: A more inclusive
response would have included members of the Council, and
particularly the Ministry of Planning and International
Cooperation (MOPIC). End comment.) The MOIT has developed a
food security strategy, which involves improving commercial
aspects and developing systems to elevate nutrition,
improving the local production of food via Ministry of
Agriculture and Irrigation program, and improving the
infrastructure and administration of food security. Even
with a food security strategy, Himiary admitted to Econoff
that MOIT specifically, and the ROYG in general has not
approached the problem of food security strategically.

DONOR RESPONSE TO THE 2008 FOOD CRISIS MIXED
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6. (C) The lack of reliable regional support further
complicates the already dire food security problem. Within
the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),the UAE pledged 500,000
tons in wheat food aid. Cirri told Econoff on February 11
that he hoped that this food aid would arrive before Ramadan
in September 2008. As of February 2009, only 70,000 tons in
food aid has been provided. According to a February 16 news
report in Al-Thawra, the UAE has agreed to deliver a second
installment of wheat in the amount of approximately 65,000
tons. (Comment: In what appears to be a political move, the
ROYG plans to disburse the wheat to public employees as well
as civil and military retirees, instead of the poor. End
comment.) Mohammad Pournik, Principal Economic and
Governance Advisor at the UN Development Program (UNDP) in
Yemen, told Econoff on February 11 that food aid is not
transparent in Yemen. According to Pournik, Emirati food aid

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has been inexplicably delayed; and empty promises are
creating a culture of distrust in Yemen.


7. In the face of a limited and ineffective regional
response, the international donor community is left to pick
up the pieces of a broken food-distribution system. In
response to the 2008 food crisis in Yemen, Pournik told
Econoff that most donors increased food aid; for example, the
WFP doubled assistance. Cirri told Econoff that the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the WFP have joined forces
in an emergency operation to assist 511,000 Yemenis, starting
in January 2009. Himiary told Econoff that the South South
Corporation (SSC),a joint Saudi and Jordanian venture, is
also preparing new projects in Yemen. Yet, the programs are
hampered, again, by a lack of funding and coordination. The
WFP project, for example, is reaching only 60% of its
requirements in Yemen.


8. COMMENT: The lack of food security in Yemen tends to
effect rural, poor areas such as Saada, Amran, Hajjah, Lahj,
al-Jawf, al-Baidha, and Hadramaut. Rural Yemenis with
insufficient caloric and nutrient intakes are at risk for
malnutrition. Furthermore, hunger and the social problems
that are associated with it are creating a culture of
distrust of government, and exacerbating stability in rural
areas.
SECHE