Yemen is “a forgotten crisis,” says the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, which says the number of food-insecure people has grown 12 percent in the past six months due to armed conflict and restrictions on food imports. Half of Yemen’s population, more than 14.4 million people, are food insecure.
Only 4 percent of the land in Yemen is arable and imports typically provide 90 percent of staple foods. Food and fuel prices have soared since civil conflict escalated last spring. Crops, livestock and fisheries are the main sources of livelihood for two-thirds of the country, so the FAO is trying a variety of measures to improve local food production, such as providing seeds and tools for backyard gardens and solar-powered irrigation pumps for small farmers.