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Solar powered water pumps offer lifeline for Yemeni farmers

A Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) FAO and European Union project tackles water scarcity and rising fuel costs with new irrigation methods in Ibb Governorate, Yemen.

The partnership between FAO and EU, is supporting farmers by providing them with solar-powered pumps, water-saving drip irrigation kits and training on improved farming practices.

Duration 7m10s

Edit Version Clean

Video Type B Roll Video

Date 06/30/2020 10:20 PM

File size 758.62 MB

Unique ID UF2T8B

All editorial uses permitted

Production details and shotlist

UNFAO Source FAO Video

Shotlist LOCATIONS: Ibb governorate, Yemen

DATE: March 2020

SOUND: Natural / Arabic / English

LENGTH: 7’11”

SOURCE: FAO

ACCESS: Please give on-screen credit to FAO

SHOTLIST:

1. Child walking in backlight

2. Low shot from behind of a child walking on the grass

3. Child walking by a corn field

4. Pan around a tree

5. Backshot of Rashed Abdullah walking, tilt up of Rashed walking

6. Mid shot of Rashed Abdullah walking through the trees

7. Mid of Rashed Abdullah surrounded by trees looking around

8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rashed Abdullah, farmer,: “When I was a child, I used to go with my father to our farm. The beauty of the farmlands and the example my father set inspired me to become a farmer. I grew up farming. I worked the land since childhood, and made that my career. I thought I could build a happy family and have children.”

9. A flowing river

10. Rashed Abdullah sitting by the river

11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rashed Abdullah, farmer: “The conflict has had a huge impact on our farms because of the lack of water which lead to crop shortages.”

12. Dry leaves on a tree

13. Rashed Abdullah walking towards a tree

14. Rashed Abdullah removing dry branches from a tree

15. Close up Rashed’s hand holding dry branches

16. Water dripping out of a pipe

17. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rashed Abdullah, farmer: “We used to irrigate our farms with seasonal rain-water flowing from streams. But those are exhausted, our crops die.”

18. Close up of Rashed Abdullah hand digging the earth

19. Rashed Abdullah removing grass from the farm

20. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rashed Abdullah, farmer: “We also used to pay to irrigate from a small well, about 1,500 meters from our farm.”

21. Tilt down to Rashed resting by window

22. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rashed Abdullah, farmer: “But if we can’t afford to pay the cost of irrigation, our farms and livelihoods collapse.”

23. A cow eating grass

24. Various of a woman and children sitting in the field with a cow in background

25. Cows in an animal farm

26. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rashed Abdullah, farmer: “Some farmers had to resort to selling their livestock to pay the water bill of the well.

27. Wide shot of a group of men including Rashed Abdullah and Murtada Ahmed, Head of Water Users Association, sitting under trees

28. Mid shot of men talking

29. Murtada Ahmed, Head of Water Users Association ( in the center) talking

30. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Murtada Ahmed, Head of Water Users Association: “Many farmers like Rashed were severely affected before FAO reached the area and provided them with assistance. Pumping water without using fuel significantly changed our lives”.

31. Top shot of a village with cultivated land

32. Arial shot of fields and trees

33. Low shot of Murtada Ahmed, Head of Water Users Association, cleaning solar panels

34. Top shot of Murtada Ahmed, Head of Water Users Association, cleaning solar panels

35. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Murtada Ahmed, Head of Water Users Association,: “When we saw water being pumped by the FAO solar power system, our happiness was indescribable.”

36. Murtada Ahmed cleaning solar panels

37. Wide of solar panels

38. Water tank with European Union and FAO logos

39. Water running out of a tube

40. Various water running into fields

41. Farmer at work

42. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Murtada Ahmed, Head of Water Users Association,: “The solar powered water pump system saved time, reduced costs, and empowered farmers to return to their agricultural livelihoods after having abandoned them.”

43. SOUNDBITE (English) Joel Munywoki, FAO Chief Technical Advisor,: “The project was lucky to procure 42 solar water pumps. The 42 solar water pumps were not given to different households. But they were given to a group of households within a catchment area. So the farmers, they group together in a water users association and they were given solar water pump. So the impact is huge. They were able to benefit from the nutritional value of the crop they produced.”

44. Various of a group of men including Rashed Abdullah and Murtada Ahmed sitting under trees talking

45. A group of men walking and talking

46. Wide men work in the field

47. Close Rashed Abdullah working in the field

48. Various shots of a fruit and vegetable market

49. SOUNDBITE (English) Joel Munywoki, FAO Chief Technical Advisor,: “Many farmers have given us a positive feedback that the solar water pump is the real deal. They don’t need to buy fuel, so while the pump is installed and there is sun. Yemen is blessed with the sun all the around. So while they have the pump they get the water, they get the water directly to their farms. Still our project has been able to procure drip irrigation system to the farmers. So over the years EU really helped us to achieve quite a lot.”

50. Pan of a water pump

51. Murtada Ahmed opening the door of the box to access an electrical panel

52. Murtada Ahmed switching on electricity

53. Tilt up of solar panels

54. Water running out from a tube

55. Tilt up from an irrigated field to hills and a village

56. Fruits on a tree

57. Aerial shot of a village

58. Rashed Abdullah inside his house

59. Rashed Abdullah leaving the house

60. Rashed Abdullah walking through corn fields

61. Close up of Rashed Abdullah harvesting

62. Wide of Rashed Abdullah at work with other farmers

63. Rashed Abdullah walking with green vegetable leaves in his hands

64. Rashed Abdullah carrying a big bag with vegetables on his shoulders

65. Various of Rashed Abdullah selling vegetables

66. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rashed Abdullah: “Thirty families are now able to irrigate their farmlands with the solar powered water pump. We rely on it to grow our food and survive.

67. Children studying at home

68. Rashed Abdullah entering his house

69. Rashed Abdullah talking with his children

70. Woman walking out of kitchen with food

71. Hands picking food from a pot

72. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rashed Abdullah: “My children are in school now. I see for them a better future.”

73. Rashed Abdullah and his children eating

74. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rashed Abdullah: “Thanks to God, our life has changed after the solar powered water system was installed. We are no longer worried about paying the fuel required for irrigation. Many farmers and I benefited.”

75. Pull focus from children, to Rashed Abdullah at work.

76. Pull focus from Rashed Abdullah’s children, to their father in the field greeting them.

ENDS

Script STORYLINE

A Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and European Union project tackles water scarcity and rising fuel costs with new irrigation methods in Ibb Governorate, Yemen.

Yemen is predominantly a rural country, with close to 70 percent of its population living outside urban areas. Irrigated agriculture is the primary source of food, employment and economic activity.

Water scarcity poses one of the most significant constraints to increasing food production in a country where more than half the population requires food assistance. Further, the sustained fuel crisis across the country has affected thousands of farmers who use fuel-operated pumps for irrigation.

FAO, in partnership with the European Union, is supporting farmers by providing them with solar-powered pumps, water-saving drip irrigation kits and training on improved farming practices.

Rashed Abdullah, 37 years old, is a farmer from Ibb governorate, a southwest region of Yemen, who relies on the agricultural livelihoods to survive and feed his family. Rashed explains: “we used to irrigate our farms with seasonal rain-water flowing from streams. But those are exhausted, our crops die.”

Rashed is a member of the Water Users Association (WUA) formed in his village by FAO for better water resources management. The farmers associated are now benefiting from a solar-powered community water well established through a FAO-European Union (EU) project. This well serves a community of 400 people in the Ibb governorate.

Every second week, the taps leading to Rashed’s crops are turned on to irrigate his farmland.

“Many farmers like Rashed were severely affected before FAO reached the area and provided them with assistance. Pumping water without using fuel significantly changed our lives” says Murtada Ahmed, head of the local WUA.

Recognizing the role of irrigated agriculture in resuscitating rural livelihoods in the country, FAO and the EU partnered to roll out the two-year USD 12.8 million “Enhancing Yemen Food Security Information Systems and Rural Livelihoods Programme” for 150 990 Yemeni people affected by the conflict. The project has set up 42 similar water pumps in various districts across the country, boosting agricultural resilience to economic and ecological shocks. It also focuses on improving water management, scaling up use of appropriate food production technology, improving value chains and creating on/off-farm employment opportunities.

FAO Chief Technical advisor Joel Munywoki explains “The 42 solar water pumps were not given to different households. But they were given to a group of households within a catchment area. So the farmers, they group together in a water users association and they were given solar water pump. So the impact is huge. They were able to benefit from the nutritional value of the crop they produced.”

“Thanks to God, our life has changed after the solar powered water system was installed. We are no longer worried about paying the fuel required for irrigation. Many farmers and I benefited.” Says Rashed Abdullah who adds: “My children are in school now. I see for them a better future”.

ENDS