In northwestern Yemen, wheat fields stretch as far as the eye can see, but remain insufficient to feed a population on the brink of famine. The country, devastated by the war, fears to run out of wheat because of another conflict, that in Ukraine.
In Al-Jawf, farmers harvest the precious cereal to grind it before shipping it, among other places, to the capital Sanaa.
With 30 million inhabitants, Yemen, the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula, nevertheless depends largely on wheat imports.
However, a third of these come from Russia and Ukraine. And the prices of agricultural raw materials have continued to rise since the start of the conflict between the two countries at the end of February, raising fears of shortages.
With an economy devastated by more than seven years of war, Yemen is particularly exposed to the consequences of the Ukrainian crisis.
The Houthi rebels, who control a large part of northern Yemen, including Sanaa and Al-Jawf, have announced that they want to produce more cereals to cope.
In a Sanaa bakery, Mohammed al-Jalal and his employees are busy providing small baguettes to customers who take them away in red plastic bags.
“The flour is available on the market, but we are afraid of being short because of the war between Russia and Ukraine,” confirms the baker to AFP.
Suppliers should import more and the Yemeni authorities are now betting on the country’s “self-sufficiency”, he calls. They “must support farmers to grow more wheat”.
The Houthis, backed by Iran, oppose pro-government forces, backed since 2015 by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, the powerful neighboring monarchy.
This coalition controls the air and sea space of Yemen, according to it to prevent the smuggling of weapons to the rebels. The latter denounce a “blockade”, making it difficult to deliver humanitarian aid to a population that experiences hunger on a daily basis.
– “Huge burden” –
“Because of the enemy’s blockade but also the war in Ukraine, we have to ensure food security from inside the country,” Ali Al-Khaled, media manager at a controlled body, told AFP. by the Houthis and in charge of grain production.
With this structure, the rebels want to “develop the cultivation of cereals in Yemen in general and in the region of Al-Jawf in particular”, he assures.
For about a week, Yemen has been living to the rhythm of a rare and fragile truce of two months torn off by the UN. This agreement provides for an easing of restrictions on air and maritime space, with in particular two weekly commercial flights connecting Sanaa airport.
The guns have largely fallen silent, apart from a few sporadic outbreaks of violence.
And, in this month of Ramadan, one of the main concerns of Yemenis remains the “iftar”, the meal for breaking the Muslim fast, traditionally synonymous with large gatherings.
“If the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, the price of wheat will increase here,” fears Ali Al-Kabous, a wheat importer and dealer.
With the explosion in oil prices, also due to the situation in Ukraine, transport costs will also increase. “It will put a huge burden on people,” laments the trader, as his employees unload dozens of large white sacks filled with flour.
Other countries in the Middle East are also affected, such as Egypt and Lebanon, major importers of Ukrainian and Russian wheat.
In Yemen, a country surrounded by wealthy Gulf monarchies, the UN estimates that up to 19 million people may need food assistance in the second half of 2022.