Yemen – Fruitful trees to remove in Ibb governorate for Khat cultivation

The Khat tree spreads in the most fertile agricultural lands in Ibb governorate, central Yemen, known as the “Green Brigade”, over the grain, fruits, vegetables, and coffee plants. The plant’s cultivation has spread in the mountains and different agricultural valleys, for many reasons, including the profit that crosses thousands of dollars, and the harvest of the Khat tree, which occurs about eight times per year, in addition to being a stimulant substance that the majority of Yemenis use, this pushed the farmers to uproot the fruit trees from their fields and replace them with khat. Khat cultivation in Yemen has recently grown fast and doubled to more than twenty times, whereas economists anticipate it to double again recently, due to the country’s reliance on this plant, which is their only and main source of income for many people.