|
In
Hadramaut Governorate there were several acres of
farmland damaged by late October floods. The deputy
minister of agriculture and irrigation, Ahmed al-Ashlah
said “ The
devastation was huge. Hadramaut is now a food insecure
governorate. Food security has been badly affected by
the floods. Farmers depended on the produce from their
land but now they will have to buy food items,".
At
least 80% of farmers were affected,
also hundreds of livestocks were lost and
farmers now have become poor. According to the
Agriculture Ministry's office in Seyoun, losses in
Hadramaut Valley are estimated at US$360 million. In
coastal districts, losses are estimated at $25
million, according to the Agriculture Ministry's
office in Mukalla, Hadramaut.
|
|
Affected
districts in Yemen.
|
|
In
Mukalla district over 250 acres of agricultural land were
damaged and in coastal areas, floods swept away almost 7,000
hectares of agricultural land. All of this caused a rise in
the prices which is estimated up to 80%.
The
UN World Food Programme (WFP) office in Yemen is heading an
operation to help 25,000 Yemenis over the next two months.
They started distributing food to flood victims on 25 October.
During the second week they distributed food baskets to needy
families containing sugar, salt, vegetable, oil and
high-energy biscuits. Till now they distributed 87 tonnes of
food in around Mukalla, Tarim, Qatan and Sah districts.
The
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said it would be setting up a
nutrition programme for children in flood-affected areas of
Hadramaut. Naseem Ur-Rehman, chief communications and
information officer at UNICEF in Yemen, said UNICEF would
conduct a nutrition assessment of affected children. About 12
percent of children are acutely malnourished in Yemen.
Children are receiving what they parents or older siblings
left.
Source:
www.irinnews.org
|
