The annual production volume is nearly 20,000 tons

Attempts to revive the “glory” of Yemeni coffee in light of economic difficulties

• The United Nations tried to replace qat cultivation with coffee cultivation, but it failed in its endeavor.

  About the United Nations Development Program

• Yemeni coffee production has almost halved.

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Farmers in the Yafea region in southern Yemen are struggling to revive the cultivation of the coffee crop, on which many Yemenis relied in ancient history, and they used to export it to various parts of the world, to the extent that the name of the famous mocha coffee is associated with the port of Mocha, where the Yemeni coffee crop was exported.

However, today this product suffers from many problems, despite the occurrence of a relative development in its cultivation in the past years, but this did not change much of the reality of its suffering in return for the cultivation of the qat plant sweeping over many areas in the mountainous cultivation areas, so the Yemeni coffee declined until it became almost absent from The global coffee market, as a result of the decline in its cultivation.

Farmer Salem bin Salem Al-Nakhbi, one of the owners of coffee fields in the Yafea region, told Reuters, “The rains returned to our region years ago, which restored optimism to farmers about watering the tree. After that, the stage of death, as if it were a bullet of mercy.

He added, "We are trying to develop new methods to re-cultivate coffee, including renewing dry fields with other mud, but it has not succeeded sufficiently."

"This method led to the recovery of only half of the field, and the other half died. After a while, the clay loses its quality, and at that time the field will no longer be suitable for cultivation," al-Nakhibi said.

Coffee is grown in Yemen in the central, western and southern highlands, located at altitudes ranging from 700 to 2,400 meters above sea level, where the climate is warm and humid, as well as in areas where the rain water level ranges from 40 centimeters to one meter, according to official data.

Agriculture faded

Studies and research indicated the gradual fading of coffee cultivation in Yemen over time, as a result of the climatic conditions that have already affected most of the coffee regions, including the Yafea region, located 200 km northeast of Aden in southern Yemen, which is the largest and most important Yemeni region that has become famous for producing the most types of coffee. Yemeni fame.

In addition to Yafea, coffee cultivation is spread in other regions, including Bani Matar, Haraz, and the directorates of Al-Haima Al-Dakhiliyah and Al-Haima Al-Kharjiia, west of the capital, Sanaa, in addition to the two regions of Bura in Al-Hodeidah Governorate in the west, and Bani Hammad in Taiz, in the southwest of the country, as well as in the Ibb governorate in central Yemen.

According to the instructions inherited from the ancestors, especially during the months of July and August, farmers used to replace the hard clay with the soft one to facilitate the painless production process.

However, farmers in the Yafea region told Reuters that the current available areas amounted to a layer of land unsuitable for cultivation, which is the main reason for the failure of coffee cultivation years ago.

Mohsen Naji Al-Harbi, owner of a coffee farm in the Yahr area of ​​Yafaa, told Reuters, "Drought hit our farms more than 15 years ago, and all the valleys became hardened, which is the main artery for feeding coffee cultivation."

He attributed the reasons for the stagnation of agricultural production of coffee to the lack of interest of the state and investors in opening markets, to re-market and export crops according to a modern commercial vision.

Farmers believe that there are solutions that may help the flourishing of coffee cultivation, such as feeding Wadi Yahr Bayafa, which meets at the mouth of the famous Wadi Banna, which originates from Ibb Governorate in the center of the country.

Al-Harbi said, "This requires a canal project that will restore the flow of water to our valley from the famous Wadi Bana, whose waters are wasted in the sea."

The war raging in the country for eight years led to a deterioration in the level of domestic production.

The revival of the glory of Yemeni coffee

Many international organizations have tried to provide advice and aid, such as combating insects that eat the coffee tree from the trunks, but to no avail, according to Ali Hassan al-Nakhibi, head of the (The Nakheb Agricultural Association) concerned with coffee trees in Yafa.

"Because coffee trees in Yemen are grown on steep mountain terraces, the average farm size is small, and traditional farming methods, ancient varieties, and difficult growing conditions lead to distinctive characteristics of Yemeni coffee, but the yield is low compared to global leaders in coffee production," Al-Nakhibi told Reuters.

Nevertheless, he emphasized that "Yemeni coffee gets an excellent price in the international market."

And the United Nations Development Program announced last August a project entitled (From Qat to Coffee in order to enhance the climate and human security) aimed at "promoting the sustainable production of coffee and value chains in Yemen, as an alternative high-value crop to reduce the exploitation of groundwater."

Over the past two decades, merchants have tried to set their sights on coffee cultivation and have competed in foreign markets through Arab and international exhibitions, and Yemeni coffee has achieved positive results.

However, years later, coffee crops suffered a setback, with successive governments continuing to ignore the creation of an appropriate and encouraging policy for marketing and exporting coffee.

 • Farmers believe that there are solutions that may help in flourishing coffee cultivation, such as feeding Wadi Yahar Bayafa', which meets at the mouth of the famous Wadi Banna, which originates from Ibb Governorate in the center of the country.

• Yemen suffers from a widespread depletion of artesian wells and water scarcity. Nevertheless, qat cultivation, which consumes large amounts of water, overwhelmed most of the important crops that could return to the state treasury in hard currency.

Qat invasion and government neglect

Researchers, specialists, and farmers believe that the deterioration of Yemeni coffee cultivation dates back to the beginning of the nineties, when drought loomed for several years on areas of coffee fields, so the lands became barren and began to erode and decay slowly until death reached them.

They also attribute the reasons for the deterioration to the encroachment of the qat plant into coffee-growing areas, in addition to the migration of skilled labor, internally or externally.

Yemen suffers from a widespread depletion of artesian wells and water scarcity. Nevertheless, qat cultivation, which consumes large amounts of water, overwhelmed most of the important crops that could return to the state treasury in hard currency, at a time when the country is witnessing economic and humanitarian crises that may push it to the brink of famine. According to the United Nations.

According to official statistics, the area currently allocated for coffee across Yemen is estimated at about 34.5 thousand hectares, and the annual production volume is about 20 thousand tons, which is a small amount compared to numbers in past decades, as Yemeni coffee exports reached more than 44 thousand tons annually 60 years ago. almost.

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