The Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Fisheries, Major General Salem Al-Soqatri, received in the building of the Yemeni Embassy, ​​Alyum, in the Federal Republic of Germany, Mrs. Natasha Hayward, Director of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), within the framework of his participation program in the activities of the International Forum for Food and Agriculture. In the German capital, Berlin.

During the meeting, Minister Al-Soqatri reviewed, with Mrs. Natasha, the program’s efforts to support Yemen, especially the project to improve rural livelihoods, stressing the availability of Yemeni government institutional capabilities that work with beneficiaries at the level of the agricultural and fisheries sectors, pointing to the partnership with organizations Civil society related to agricultural activity in the Agricultural Cooperative Union, the Fish Cooperative Union, agricultural and fisheries associations, rural women’s associations, coastal women’s associations, and youth associations, which work in coordination and cooperation. With the Ministry.

The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries touched on the multiple challenges facing the agricultural and fishery sectors, which have cast a shadow on the food security situation in Yemen, explaining that about (17) million people are suffering from acute food insecurity, and (2) million A child and a pregnant and breastfeeding woman are suffering from malnutrition, stressing that the prolonged war has damaged the infrastructure for agricultural and fish production, and caused the displacement of about (4) million displaced people, who are now in need. To help.

The Minister of Socotra highlighted the dangers of the repeated floods and hurricanes that have struck Yemen in recent years, especially in the eastern governorates, and the crimes committed by the Houthi militias in the militarization of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and the resulting complications for the movement of food supplies, calling on the international community Donors and development programmes, stand by the Yemeni people and enable them to gradually recover to face all challenges.

Mrs. Natasha Hayward, Director of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, for her part, explained that she was able to win the competition more than once with projects funded by the program (GAFSP), the most recent of which is the Rural Livelihoods Improvement Project, which is implemented in 5 governorates: Al-Hudaydah. , Dhamar, Al-Dhalea, Taiz and Lahj, announcing that during the month of next May a new mechanism will be implemented, which is to direct support to the beneficiaries through their organizations or Their associations, as well as supporting investors in the field of food security and improving rural livelihoods, wishing Yemen to participate in the competition to win this grant.

The Minister was accompanied by Ambassador Louay Al-Eryani, the Chargé d'Affaires of our Embassy in Berlin, Dr. Khader Balam Atroush, Head of the Technical Secretariat for Food Security, and Hashid Al-Hamdani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Agricultural Cooperative Credit Bank.