Farming for Development: Agriculture in Yemen

In Taiz, in the traditional way a farmer is using a couple of oxen to draw water from a well to irrigate a field. Although the country's cultivable area is estimated at 578,000 acres, only some 270,800 are under cultivation. Insufficient rainfall and lack of permanent surface water severely restrict the scope of agriculture. With help from the Food and Agriculture Organization under the UN Development Programme, the Government has undertaken several irrigation schemes in an effort to increase the agricultural production. 1975.