Yemen's honey a national wealth threatened with depletion due to the war

Yemen - Muhammad Hamoudi: Yemeni honey maintains its high value globally, due to the nature of the land and the diversity of pastures from which bees harvest their food, which is a rich natural wealth in the poor and devastated country by a protracted war.

The high quality of Yemeni honey made it one of the important economic components of the country from which thousands of tons were exported before the war that has been raging for years.

Honey is produced in various regions of Yemen, but the best quality is Sidr honey, which is known in Wadi Doan, Hadramout Governorate, southern Yemen, whose bees feed only on Sidr trees.

Sidr trees are also spread in several Yemeni regions, which makes them suitable areas for beekeeping and for the production of pure honey of high quality.

Yemeni honey has great nutritional value, as it is a treatment for many diseases, and gives the body high energy and activity.

The distinction of Yemeni honey comes from the terrain in which bees graze, such as high mountains, extended valleys, broad plateaus and long coasts that abound in the country, which gave it a unique climate that helped in the quality of its botanical offering throughout the year, and this led to a great diversity in flowers and fruits, and thus Different types of honey.

Yemeni honey is also distinguished from others, in that it is the bee that builds honey cells on its own without human intervention in its manufacture, as it preserves its natural properties of pollen, royal jelly and bee food, which makes it of superior therapeutic value, in addition to its high nutritional value, to Besides its delicious taste and good flavour, it is dark and beautiful in color.

Thousands of Yemenis work in beekeeping and honey production, and accordingly they live and move from one region to another in search of suitable pastures to produce “liquid gold” and increase reproduction in their beehives.

However, with the continuation of the war that exceeded its seventh year in the country, honey production declined by up to fifty percent, after restricting the movement of beekeepers who face difficulty in moving from one region to another, in addition to hundreds of them losing many beehives due to displacement, conflict and indiscriminate spraying of lands Agricultural pesticides.

Abu Abdul Rahman Ali, owner of a honey shop in the capital, Sana’a, has been working in beekeeping and honey production for many years, and he continues to practice his profession with passion and love despite the difficulties he faces, whether in the process of beekeeping or exporting it outside Yemen.

Abu Abdul Rahman, who inherited this profession from his grandfathers, owns hundreds of beehives and produces a lot of honey, but his production has recently declined due to the neutralization of some areas from the grazing process after they became areas of clashes, as well as the high prices of oil derivatives, in addition to obstacles to its export abroad, he says.

Abu Abd al-Rahman says: “The level of income has decreased by a large percentage from what it was before the war, to about fifty percent when it comes to selling honey internally. As for exports, it has declined significantly.

Abu Abdul Rahman explains that the war and siege closed the doors to visitors and tourists from outside Yemen, in addition to hampering export operations. Before the war, honey was exported to several countries through Sanaa airport, or through land ports easily.

A Yemeni bee expert says that honey producers and sellers face many difficulties that limit their movement and reduce their production quantities, the most important of which is the excessive logging of trees with high benefits for bees due to the lack of gas used for cooking, which prompted many families to search for alternatives such as using trees.

In beekeeping and the production of honey, Yemenis have been interested over the ages that they inherited from parents and grandparents and gained their experience in knowing the types and classes of bees and their pastures and the quality of each bee honey product, until today every honey is known by the nature of the land, flowers and trees from which bees graze, and its quality is determined according to the type of trees. and region.

The experiences of Yemeni beekeepers have accumulated until they have become sufficiently familiar with the breeding dates and seasons for bees, the seasons of honey production, and the care of their colonies throughout the year.

Yemeni beekeepers know the flowering dates of pastures in different environmental areas, so you find them moving bee colonies from one valley to another, and from one region to another in pursuit of the source of food (nectar - pollen).

Yemen has many types of honey, including Sidr honey (cans), the kind that enjoys fame and a prestigious position that made it one of the most famous and most expensive honeys in the world.

Samar honey (al-talh), which is honey extracted from thorn trees called Samar, and spread in high density throughout Yemen, such as Hadramout and some mountainous areas in the governorates of Ibb, Dhamar, Sana’a and Taiz. In the pancreas, it turns into human insulin, which lowers blood sugar levels.

Samar honey also has many benefits for patients with liver disease and stomach ulcers.. and in treating anemia and cold diseases.

Alsal honey (tamarisk), which is honey known for its pungent taste, which leaves a burning sensation in the throat that lasts after long hours of consumption. This type of treatment is one of the best, according to experts.

Peace honey (peace), extracted by the bee from the flowers of peace trees in the Tihama region on the coast of the Red Sea (west of Yemen), and from the mountains of Al-Mahwit Governorate.

Mountain honey: bees extract it from the flowers of several bushes and mountain weeds, and it is known for its rapid freezing.

Almarai honey, which is produced on most days of the year, is harvested by bees from multiple trees and flowers. It is a good quality honey and is distinguished by its reasonable prices.

Yemeni honey is among the strategic crops that Yemenis are interested in developing and developing their production.

There are about 100,000 young beekeepers in Yemen, who produce about 1,580 tons of honey annually, of which 840 tons are exported, according to the United Nations report for the year 2020.

Since 2014, the Houthis have taken control of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and visits to gardens, parks and archaeological sites are now restricted to the residents of the governorate, after it used to receive hundreds of visitors daily from different parts of the country.

The conflict has regional spillovers. Since 2015, an Arab coalition led by the Saudi neighbor has been carrying out military operations in Yemen in support of the government forces, in the face of the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have controlled governorates, including the capital, Sanaa, since 2014.(Anatolia)