The current situation of coffee production in the Republic of Yemen
Arabic coffee crop (Yemeni) : is considered Of the
cash crops that support the national economy, where the state began to pay
attention to the cultivation of coffee since the eighties through the
establishment of the national project for the development of coffee
cultivation, in addition to cooperation between Yemen and France in the
nineties to develop the cultivation of coffee.
Some researchers pointed out that the Arab coffee crop was present
in the highlands of Yemen and was extinct. In the 20th century, the view was
that the African plateau, which still contains a number of naturally growing
coffee trees, especially in the Ethiopian and Sudanese highlands, could have
been the origin of the species Known as the Arab type.
The fact is that the Yemenis are the first to invent coffee as a
popular drink. Through them they spread to all the countries of the world, and
many intellectuals gathered around it. It was treated as a qualitative crop.
Through it, the relationship with different peoples deepened through the trade
and cultural exchange between the East And the West during that period. Yemen
is one of the countries exporting coffee since ancient times known as Mocka
Coffee to distinguish the port of Mukha from which the Yemeni coffee was
exported, where the first shipment was purchased by the Dutch from the port of
Mukhaa in 1628.
The popularity of Yemeni coffee is due to its high quality
compared to other types of coffee produced in other countries. Thus, the demand
and competition between the French, British and Dutch companies increased
during the 1750s. The highest production of Arab coffee came in 1720, after the
Dutch established a coffee factory in the Mukha region in 1708. They began to
export it. Then the French set up another factory in the Mukhaa area in 1709.
During that period, the ports of Mukha, Hodeidah and Al-Lahia witnessed a large
movement of coffee trade.
After three centuries of prosperity, the Yemeni coffee trade
gradually began to decline. In the 19th century, Yemen lost most of the world
coffee markets due to the transfer of the coffee tree to other parts of the
world in addition to local influences on the production and export of Yemeni
coffee. The statistical figures for the movement of the coffee trade between
Yemen and the world at the beginning of the eighteenth century reached about
twenty thousand tons in the year, meaning that it was grown in an area of more
than twice the area currently cultivated. Yemen has long exported its exports
to the world. Another state in the list of coffee export.
Coffee is cultivated in the Republic of Yemen in areas separated
from each other and in isolated sites in the mountains, plateaus and valleys,
which gives each area a particular specificity in dealing with coffee
cultivation. Coffee is cultivated in the Western, Central and Southern Highlands
between different heights ranging from 1200 to 2700 m Above sea level within a
rain range of 400 - 700 millimeters, and in some elevations up to 1000
millimeters.
Studies indicate that the coffee crop is grown under three
different systems in terms of the use of water sources and can be distinguished
as follows:
-
A crop is grown in the valleys. Here, the coffee crop in
irrigation depends on the water of the floods and geys, in addition to surface
water and rain.
-
A crop is grown in the slopes of medium height. The crop
depends on rain water, in addition to supplementary irrigation from groundwater
wells, small eye water, dams and reservoirs.
-
A crop is grown in the( such as terraced fields), which
depends entirely on rain irrigation, as well as the reservoirs established for
rainwater harvesting.
Areas of interest in the coffee industry include: Bani Matar,
Hemetin, Bani Hammad, Jebel Bara'a, Malhan, Anas, Bani Isma'il, Wadi Al Dour in
Al-Mu'ayyim, Al-Raimi, Sabri, Saadi, Al-Wasabi and Yafi'i. It works in the
production of coffee crop from agriculture and even export about one million
people. The productivity per unit of area for any crop of agricultural crops as
a result of a range of environmental factors and inputs of production in
addition to the role of economic factors in the increase or decrease
productivity.