UNDP Supports Yemen’s Fishery Communities to Rebuild Livelihoods and Local Economy

January 11, 2022

Hadramout, Yemen – Today, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and its local partner, the Youth Leadership Development Foundation (YLDF), delivered fishing boats and engines to fishers in Mukalla, Yemen. Generously funded by the Government of Japan, this effort is the first of a larger plan to deliver 100 fishing boats, 100 boat engines, 500 fishing nets and 500 GPS devices that will be evenly distributed between Aden and Mukalla. The second delivery of items is expected later this month in Aden.

Conflict has affected more than 70 per cent of small-scale fishers – the backbone of the fisheries sector. Through the Rebuilding Livelihoods and Capacities of Conflict-Affected Small-Scale Fisheries Households in Aden and Hadramout (RELACC) project, the fishery production in Aden and Mukalla is being supported and revamped. The distribution of boats, engines, fishing nets, and GPS will assist small-scale fishers meet market demand and supply by improving their production and catch rates. Equipped with cooling storage for the fishers’ catch, the boats will also help resolve the issue of cold storage at the production level.

In December 2021, UNDP and YLDF distributed 500 financial grants worth US$950 each – 250 provided to fishers in both Aden and Mukalla – to help fishery communities establish supporting fishing businesses. The grants were preceded by the project helping 1,000 Yemenis learn to fix fishing assets such as boats, boat engines, and fishing nets, as well as build their entrepreneurial skills to help them improve and sustain their livelihood opportunities.

“When I first saw this project advertised, I knew that I could help my grandfather make fishing hooks. The training and grant allowed me to make different types of hooks and sell them to the fishers in need,” says Hanan, aged 30 from Hadramout.

The project has also encouraged women’s participation in fisheries, an industry where the employment rate is almost negligible. With 30 per cent participation of women, the local fishing businesses focused on converting fish waste into fertilizers, salt production and packaging, fish farming, sale of dry fish, fishing equipment stores, and maintenance of fishing equipment.

UNDP and YLDF collaborated with General Fisheries Authority (GFA) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Fisheries Wealth in Aden and Hadramout with full support to implement the RELACC project. The GFA partnership has also helped build ownership and sustainability of the implemented interventions.

“The conflict has severely impacted the fisheries sector, and subsequently small-scale fishers and their livelihoods, income, and food security,” says the Project Manager, Arvind Kumar. “This project is expected to improve and strengthen the fishing community’s resilience though vital generation of sustainable incomes,” he adds.

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Press Contacts

UNDP Yemen: Leanne Rios, Team Lead: Communications and Advocacy Leanne.rios@undp.org


About UNDP

UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in nearly 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. http://www.undp.org

About the Project

Funded by the Government of Japan, the Rebuilding Livelihoods and Capacities of Conflict-Affected Small-Scale Fisheries Households in Aden and Hadramout (RELACC) is focusing on small-scale fishers in Aden and Mukalla Governorates in Yemen. The project aims to enhance stability and peace-building while providing opportunities for livelihoods to vulnerable groups and providing socio-economic infrastructure. This is expected to result in strengthening the resilience of communities that will in turn contribute to reducing the conflict. The project targets the western regions of Hadramout (Mukalla, Broom, Maifa’a, Shuhair) and eastern areas: (Shahr, Al Hami, Ad Dees Asharqia, Arraida and Qusaiar), while in Aden it targets the districts of Buraiqa, Mualla, Crater, At Tawahi and Kormaksar.