Yemeni beekeepers take risks to produce honey

SANAA, Yemen－Fleeing from airstrikes and land mines, Yemeni beekeeper Darwish Ali drove his beehives for more than 500 kilometers toward the western highlands of Sanaa Province, seeking safe valleys for herding his bees.

Yemen, known for producing some of the finest honey in the world, has been ravaged by more than four years of civil war that has shattered the economy and pushed the Arab country to the brink of starvation.

The 26-year-old beekeeper arrived in the valleys of Al-Haimah Al-Kharijiyah district two months ago, coming from Shabwa Province, about 470 km southeast of the capital Sanaa.

Shabwa's northwestern outskirts are still open battlegrounds between government forces backed by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and Houthi rebels.

So far, the coalition, which intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to support the government of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, has launched thousands of airstrikes against the Houthi rebels, who control the most populous areas including Sanaa.

"I transported my bees to this area where they can find flowers to produce good honey," Ali said in Raimat Al-Haimah valley of Al-Haimah Al-Kharijiyah district.

Al-Haimah Al-Kharijiyah district, which is part of Sanaa Province, is known for growing Sidr and its almond trees.

The trees start producing flowers in early winter, and they bloom all through the winter.

Known for its purity and therapeutic benefits, Yemeni honey is hailed as among the best in the world.

However, the years of war in Yemen have badly paralyzed its traditional honey business.

Abdullah Nashir, a professor at the Agriculture Faculty in Sanaa University, said beekeepers risk airstrikes and land mines as they move between valleys.

"Like Ali, many beekeepers keep traversing from one place to another carrying their hives on the backs of trucks in search of flowering trees,... but they face the troubles of war," said Nashir, who is also the chief of the Cooperative League of Yemeni Beekeepers, a nongovernment syndicate comprising 100,000 beekeepers.

"Of course, the war has greatly harmed the Yemeni honey industry as it has put many obstacles in the way. Before the war, we used to export our honey, but the war and blockade have largely reduced exports."

Abdulkarim al-Najdi, who owns one of the main honey shops in Sanaa, complained of war and the economic crisis. "The war and the economic crisis have affected us very much. Before the war, my trade was very good, and people bought a lot. But not now, not anymore," he said.