The poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, known in particular for its prized honey, has for eight years been embroiled in a devastating conflict between the government, backed by a coalition led by neighboring Saudi Arabia, and Houthi rebels backed by Israel. Iran.
A truce in effect since April 2 gives some respite to the population, faced with one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world. But the war ransacked fragile infrastructure and ravaged many sectors of the economy, especially beekeeping, which is the pride of the country.
In the valley at the foot of Taëz, a city in the south-west of the country surrounded by mountains and particularly affected by the conflict, Mohammed Saif inspects his hives. There were 300 before the war. They are only 80 today.
“Strange” phenomena affect bees, he notes. "Is it climate change or the effects of war? We don't know," he wonders.
- "Huge losses" -
Honey production supports nearly 100,000 Yemeni families and plays a "vital role in the economy", according to the UN. The famous yellowish nectar is sometimes sold, in its different varieties, at high prices, especially in the rich neighboring Gulf countries.
But the sector has suffered "huge losses since the start of the conflict", notes the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The violence, the effects of contamination by weapons and the growing impact of climate change "threaten to wipe out a 3,000-year-old practice", underlines the organization, in a report published in June.
One of Yemen's flagship products is jujube honey, called "Sidr Malaki" in Arabic, to which specialists attribute therapeutic virtues.
"The war had a very significant impact on us," sighs Mohammed Saif, recounting the fighting that affected the production areas. "The fighters hit many areas where the bees were. In our village, last year, a beekeeper lost his entire colony in a missile strike," he said.
In addition to the violence, the conflict has limited the possibility for beekeepers to move from one region to another, when they used to move according to the seasons and the flowerings, explains to AFP the porter. word of the ICRC, Bachir Omar.
- "Disturbed ecosystem" -
Another challenge and not the least: the rise in temperatures recorded in recent years, combined with serious damage to the environment, "disturb the ecosystem of bees and therefore harm the pollination process", says the ICRC, emphasizing the decrease in rainfall and the desertification that is advancing in the country.
"Yemen, like many conflict-affected countries, suffers disproportionately from the effects of climate change," adds the ICRC, which plans to help some 400 Yemeni beekeepers with training and financial support.
In his store in Taiz, Nabil Al-Hakimi has seen customers become scarce. "Before the war we could live from the sale of honey (...) but the product has become rare and customers can no longer afford it", due to the economic crisis, he laments.
“I used to sell 15, 20, sometimes 25 five-litre jars every month,” he sadly recalls: “Today I can't even manage to sell a single one.”
