" War and climate change threaten jasmine cultivation and trade in Yemen " 10 February 2026

In the past two years, heavy rainfall has caused flooding and torrents that have inundated large areas of Tihama, known for its ful cultivation. As a result, areas of farmland were damaged, causing heavy losses for local farmers and traders who found no one to help them or alleviate the burden of what had happened. Many of them suffered successive economic crises, with some going bankrupt while others faced the specter of poverty and need...

The torrential rains that washed away farms as a result of climate change in Yemen did not only affect fal farmers, but also women who work in organizing, cleaning, and stacking fal contracts, including 40-year-old Intisar Marai, who supports her orphaned children in the Beit al-Faqih area of Hodeidah...Intisar used to work eight hours a day sorting and cleaning cardamom pods in exchange for food, drink, and a monthly wage of no more than 27,000 riyals (about $50). Intisar refuses to talk about her poverty and destitution, expressing her grief over the loss of her livelihood with tears...

Issam Muhammad, a 30-year-old farmer from the Al-Abbasi area, tells Raseef22: “We have not seen any cooperation from government agencies or local or international organizations to help those affected. Even satellite channels only come to film the damaged farms, but to no avail.” He continues: “The floods washed away the farmland, and even the crops that weren't washed away were damaged. Most farmers were unable to reclaim their land.”...Issam, who also owns a fenugreek shop in Sana'a, says he has been unable to pay the rent that has been accumulating for a year and is now facing closure. He continues: “My friend rented a shop to sell flowers, but he had to leave, and someone else was forced to give up part of his shop and lay off his employees... We are trying to sell, even at a loss, and we have resorted to selling red roses instead of flowers so that we can continue and pay the shop rents.”...

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[Unofficial translation from Arabic to English provided by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]