Agricultural land declination: Urbanization, lack of natural resources, and neglect
by Madiha Al-Junaid
Of what is more than a decade ago, I remember as a kid and teenager how very close green areas of farms were to my home. We even used to take a walk to the nearby gardens when possible if we wanted to have a family picnic or so. Nowadays, however, agricultural lands seem to be pushed further and further away from the city. The green blanket I used to see covering areas beyond the sight is now close to not existing; only a few scattered farms around the center of the city I live in, Sana’a, Yemen.
For some cities and towns abroad, such as Nairobi in Kenya, movements are pushing the country toward ‘more green’. Frankly, it is the opposite scenario in Yemen, where such movements are rarely found, if not nonexistent, as the country is struggling with vulnerable water resources and dry seasons exceeding the number of wet seasons, due to which essential crop vegetation is declining, let alone unutilized green spaces.
It is not only the lack of water resources that restricts the country from having more spacious green areas and enhanced environmental and ecological life. Rather, it is the lack of consideration and feeble efforts toward sustainable management on a national scale. Furthermore, agriculture is observed as a source for food, and unfortunately, is taken for granted while neglecting to study all factors and circumstances surrounding this industry for development.
Wells are being drilled down deep to hundreds of meters, posing a threat to the future of the coming generations. When water can no longer be found, the land becomes abandoned, mostly, and/ or offered for sale (generally for construction purposes). In one of the interviews conducted by the Cocoon Project in collaboration with the Water and Environment Centre (WEC), a group of farmers attributed the cause of abandoning their farms and turning them into construction areas to the decline in the water level. “We uprooted all banana crops after the wells in the land had dried out. It was too late to discover that the water consumption was way higher than the recharge,” a farmer in one of the Wadis of Yemen said. Those farmers relied lately extensively on groundwater resources, which has led to a deterioration and severe water shortage, and hence a degradation in agricultural activities.
Thus, awareness plays a significant role in educating the nation about the green spaces and environmental balance, water-stress-tree plantation, water conservation and management, seasonal cultivation/ agriculture, and good land preparation, etc. If the nation is well aware, supported to identify its needs in each specific field, aware of all factors and possibilities, and working toward better integrated resourceful solutions and better agricultural management, it will result in more spacious green ‘land covers’ and increased agricultural production.
Furthermore, talking to any regular citizen, they will easily recall urbanization and the exploding population as a certain cause for agricultural land degradation and decline. Adding to that, it is a trend and a common custom in Yemen that construction is superior to farming. Having that as well as the rising high rate of poverty in the country will result in putting one’s land (parts of land) for sale, considering the high ratio of returns during this inflation period (Yemen Conflict) and high land renting and purchasing rates.
In a previous blog titled ‘Goodbye Agriculture’ on TheWaterChannel, the causes of this “phenomenon”, leaving agriculture, were highlighted. Mainly, it was caused by young people searching for more rewarding and prestigious jobs in the cities. It was concluded that to tackle this issue, efforts need to be heading toward farming modernization and “high value commercial opportunities”. 
Apart from profits and coping with the economic status of the country, there comes ‘possession’. In other words, being on the top floors or in 2nd floor apartments or higher, an observer can experience a scenery of a large number of trees and green areas that many of the street-walkers cannot see. It is due to the fact that almost all constructions in a certain location on a certain land enclose and fence the entire area, including green spaces mostly covered with many old trees with so and so meters high, and houses’ vegetable and fruit farms (See picture on the right taken by Mona Al-Ansi). This is apart from very few public parks that are not well taken care of in the first place.
Al-Rawdha ‘The Garden’, a living example
In an area a few kilometers north of the center of the capital city Sana’a, Al-Rawdhah lies uniquely with its hundreds of years-old buildings similar to those in the old city of Sana’a. Rawdhah has always been considered “the twin city of the old city of Sana’a”. It is also believed to be named after the Arabic translation of its name, which means “the garden”. The garden was once, as the name suggests, full of trees and plants. Yet until the last decade or two, the population started to observe the reduction in the number of green areas compared to the past. “In the past, it was greener and less crowded,” a citizen recalls. She added that there were more farms and wells. “I could only find one well nearby today,” she realizes with eagerness in her voice while proceeding to acknowledge that “the water in Al-Rawdhah wells tastes like no other in the entire governorate, if not in the country. It is very pure and light, and you never get enough of it”.
Al-Rawdhah is turning into a place with more and more improperly planned construction and houses, as well as military camps. There is very little space for farms. Nevertheless, it is the lack of care and proper research that the area lacks, where urbanization and water scarcity add much of a burden to it. An issue that has been witnessed lately in houses with small gardens is having their plants corrupted and deteriorated because of very small worms growing inside the branches of their plants and eating them from the inside out. This area requires more research and experimentation to prevent such an agricultural threat. “However, the worms strangely disappear during the rainy season, when everywhere in here turns green, maybe it is due to the fact that heavy rains kill them,” she said, explaining the disappearance of the worms during certain times of the year.
Old photo of Al-Rawdah (Source: Sanaa Forums) and Rawdha nowadays (by Mona Al-Ansi)
The greener side
Many people from abroad are not aware of the fact that Yemen has a variety of climates and very diverse environments. It is widely (and wrongly) known that since Yemen is in the Arabian Peninsula, it must then be mostly, if not all, a desert. See, this very wrong information was very unfortunate to Yemen and unfair to the natural resources it owns, which, from that perception, it was neglected and abandoned. Yemen, on the other hand, possesses a very rich ecological life ranging from various and rare types of plants, animals, and species. In addition to the nature reserves, such as Otma, Bora, Hof, Socotra, the Adeni wetlands, and others, which are still under study, the country has large areas of wadis, landscapes, and plains with agricultural belts. These areas are very green and diverse. And many villages, countryside, and even some towns in the country are just a green painting, especially during the rainy seasons (coming twice every year with more rain during the wet years). “I am a newcomer, and I have never thought that these spaces with just soil would turn green with those flowers and grass all around. Rain has revived the atmosphere and the land,” a newcomer at Sana’a University said.
With all that has been said, it is important to mention the grasses that grow rapidly here and there in the city and in wide areas with no buildings, as well as the ignored parks that are all green during the rainy season, which are all planted by nature. However, these spaces are not being adapted for agriculture, which is a waste of resources.
From left to right: (1) Al-Hawf-Al-Mahrah – green during the rainy season of 3 months; (2) Bara’ Reserve- last tropical forest in the Arabian Peninsula – 300-year-old tree; (3) Best Yemeni coffee is grown at Bara’ Reserve; (4) Tehama is always green – grains (source: Dr. Musawa – instagram)
Finally, the nation needs to know that trees and the “green blanket” are an environmental health/ boost. It keeps the climate and environment balanced. Dust particles and humidity issues are less when there is more ‘green’, let alone the beautiful and eye-relaxing scenery. This beauty needs to be revealed and unveiled. Fencing and building walls around the beautiful green spaces is not for the common good. The life cycle of trees and plantations in itself is a phenomenon; let’s stretch our arms to reach people of all ages and backgrounds and raise awareness among them on the advantages of a greener environment. Let’s prepare the nation for another era of a healthier planet and education for the environment. Agriculture is not securing the food for the hungry stomachs ONLY, but also securing economic independence, youth employment, and most importantly, a greener and healthier environment.
