The Independent: The Saudi-Emirati coalition ravages Yemen’s economy

The Independent said in report that the Saudi-Emirati alliance in its war on Yemen that has continued for more than five years caused the destruction of Yemen’s economy, including the agricultural sector.

Since the beginning of the war, the Saudi-Emirati alliance had launched more than 680 air strikes on agricultural lands across the country, killing and wounding nearly 400 civilians, and disrupting the agricultural production, the newspaper pointed out.

The newspaper added that the year 2020 will be the worst among years of hunger in Yemen due to the war and the Saudi-Emirati coalition’s air strikes, the Coronavirus pandemic, floods, and the locusts.

The newspaper pointed out that more than half of Yemen’s population is dependent on food aid coming from abroad, and that the situation had worsened after the arrival of the Coronavirus, and that the number would rise to new highs.

The United Nations estimated that 2.4 million children in Yemen will be pushed to the brink of starvation by the end of the year, because of the conflict and unprecedented shortages in humanitarian funding during the pandemic.

The Independent noted that the United Nations has already closed vital programs, including those that treat malnourished children.

The joint report describes how Yemen is in the eye of a “perfect storm” of economic shocks, conflict, floods, a plague of desert locusts – and now the coronavirus, the newspaper said.

“In fact, Oxfam says that more people in Yemen may die this year from hunger linked to Covid-19 than from the disease itself,” the newspaper added.

“Soaring food prices are among the main reasons for hunger in Yemen. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) told The Independent that the cost of staples such as flour has increased by 40 per cent since last year alone, while the cost of food in general has tripled since the start of the war.

“This is driven in part by a sharp decline in food and aid coming into Yemen, a country that relies on imports for 90 per cent of its supplies.

“But there are other factors piling pressure on families. New reports shared with The Independent indicate that the destruction of Yemen’s agricultural sector, which employs half the country’s workforce and is responsible for 15 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), will also push more people into food insecurity this year.

“The FAO said last week that cereal production this year is forecast to be just 365,000 metric tonnes – less than half of pre-war levels.

“The crops that are among the hardest hit are the country’s palm trees. According to public reports and local journalists investigating the issue, half the country’s more than 4 million palms have died since the start of the war.”