Editing Economy of Yemen (section)

=== Agriculture and fishing ===
[[File:Khat fields in western yemen.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Khat]] cultivation in western [[Yemen]] near [[At Tawilah]]]]
[[File:Fish Market, Yemen (10525589863).jpg|left|thumb|Fish market in Yemen (2013)]]
Agriculture is the mainstay of Yemen's economy, generating more than 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) since 1990 (20.4 percent in 2005 according to the Central Bank of Yemen). Agriculture employs more than half (54.2 percent in 2003) of the working Yemeni population. However, a [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. government]] estimate suggests that the sector accounted for only 13.5 percent of GDP in 2005. Numerous [[Environmental issues in Yemen|environmental problems]] hamper growth in this sector — soil erosion, sand dune encroachment, and [[deforestation]] — but the greatest problem by far is the scarcity of water. As a result of low levels of rainfall, agriculture in Yemen relies heavily on the extraction of groundwater, a resource that is being depleted. Yemen's water tables are falling by approximately two meters per year; it is estimated that Sanaa's groundwater supplies could be exhausted by 2030. The use of [[irrigation]] has made fruit and vegetables Yemen's primary cash crops. With the rise in the output of irrigated crops, the production of traditional rain-fed crops such as cereals has declined. According to the Central Bank of Yemen, the production of [[khat]], a mildly narcotic and heavily cultivated plant that produces natural stimulants when its leaves are chewed, rose 6.7 percent in 2005 and accounted for 5.8 percent of GDP; the consumption of khat is widespread in Yemen. According to [[World Bank Group|the World Bank]] and other economists, cultivation of this plant plays a dominant role in Yemen's agricultural economy, constituting 10 percent of GDP and employing an estimated 150,000 persons while consuming an estimated 30 percent of irrigation water and displacing land areas that could otherwise be used for exportable coffee, fruits, and vegetables.<ref name=cp />

Although Yemen's extensive territorial waters and marine resources have the potential to produce 840,000 tons of fish each year, [[Fishing in Yemen|its fishing industry]] is relatively underdeveloped and consists largely of individual fishermen in small boats. After the government lifted restrictions on fish exports, production  reached one-quarter of capacity, yielding revenues valued at US$260 million in 2005. Fish and fish products constituted only 1.7 percent of Yemen's GDP but were the second largest export. In December 2005, the World Bank approved a US$25 million credit for a Fisheries Management and Conservation Project  in all coastal governorates along the [[Red Sea]] and the [[Gulf of Aden]]. This project was expected to improve fish landing and auction facilities; provide ice plants for fish preservation; and enable Yemen's Ministry of Fisheries to undertake more effective research, resource management planning, and regulatory activities.<ref name=cp />