The 7-Point Action Plan was jointly developed by the Ministries of Planning and International Cooperation; Finance; Trade; Public Health and Population, Agriculture and Irrigation, Water and Environment; Fish Wealth, as well as the Social Welfare Fund, the Social Fund for Development, the Central Statistics Organization, and the International Food Policy Research Institute.

1. National Food Security Strategy
Operationalizing the 7-Point Action Plan:
Presenter:Clemens Breisinger
The 7-Point Action Plan was jointly developed by the Ministries of Planning and
InternationalCooperation; Finance; Trade; Public Health and Population,Agriculture
and Irrigation,Water and Environment; Fish Wealth, as well as the Social Welfare
Fund, the Social Fund for Development, the Central StatisticsOrganization, andthe
InternationalFood Policy Research Institute.
MOPIC and IFPRIgratefully acknowledge support from the European Union, the
Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit, and the World Bank.

2. 7-Point Action Plan:
National-levelfood security
2
2. Improve the business climate to foster pro-food secure private
investments in promising sectors
 It’s jobs, jobs, jobs for the poor
3. Combine qat reduction policies with support for non-qat
agricultural development
 Agricultural transformation
4. Improve risk management and enforce competition among cereal
importers and consider physical grain storage for emergencies
 Food trade revolution
5. Implement the water sector strategy decisively
 Water, water, water

3. 7-Point Action Plan (contd.):
Household-levelfood security
3
1. Leverage the petroleum subsidy reform to promote food
security through direct transfers and investments
 Smart transfers
6. Better target public investment to the food insecure and
improve service provision, especially in rural areas
 Restructure public spending and services
7. Launch high-level awareness campaigns for family planning,
healthy nutrition, women’s empowerment and qat
 Women empowerment and
awareness campaigns

4. How to operationalize the Plan?
Policies, investments and campaigns
National food security
(Availability)
Macroeconomy Key sectors Governance
Food imports/foreign exchange earnings
Human capacity
and productivity
Stability, jobs and
services
Household food security
(Access and utilization)
Income Food Services
Calorie deficiency
Child stunting
Policiesand
interventions
Crisesandshocks(Stability)
Source: Yemen National Food Security Strategy, simplified version)

5. Speeding-up policy reform is essential:
• Restructuring social security from subsidies to direct,
targeted transfers
– Expected impact is: lower poverty and budget savings
• Improve the business climate, especially through access to
credit, protection of investors, and transparent tax regime
– Expected impact is: higher private investments that create jobs
• Consider a consumption tax on qat
– Expected impact is: reduction in qat consumption
• Laws and regulations for improving the competitiveness of
cereal markets
– Expected impact is: lower food prices
• Strengthen institutions
– Expected impact is: more efficient and effective service provision

6. What about public investments?
• Broad investment areas from NFSS
• Overview of public spending allocation budget
structure
• Example of resource allocationfor growth
acceleration (based on Joint Social and Economic Assessment)

7. Broad investment areas in the NFSS
• Agriculture (based on National Agricultural
Strategy)
• Health and nutrition (based NationalNutrition
Strategy)
• Transport and trade
• Water (based on National Water Strategy)
• Targeted transfers and awareness campaigns

8. Investments in agriculture
• Productivity of cereals and pro-poor cash crops
• Water-saving technology for better water use
efficiency (“more crop per drop”)
• Promotion of alternative crops to qat, for
example coffee and cereals
• Renewal of agricultural research and extension
• Land and water management

9. Investments in health and nutrition
• Family planning
• Upgrading of existing health centers, including
medication, equipment and educationof
health center personnel
• Programs for
– breastfeeding education
– nutrition education
– hygiene awareness,
– birth aftercare and child growth

10. Investments in trade and transport
• Efficiency of supply chains and reduced post-
harvest losses
• Infrastructure for better processing and
marketing opportunities of private sector
• Strategic grain reserves of around 300MT, but
effective governance will be critical for success
• Rural roads using cash for work programs for
the poor
• Access to credit for poor rural women

11. Investments in water
• Improved access to clean drinking water for
rural and urban households
• Strengthen capacity for and implementation
of integrated water resources management,
including groundwatermonitoring and control
and water quality improvement

12. Investment in targeted transfers and awareness
campaigns
• Expansionof targeted and conditional cash
transfers
• Promote awareness campaigns, especially for:
– family planning
– qat consumption
– breastfeeding practices
– healthy nutrition, and
– women’s empowerment.

13. How much funding is needed to achieve the food
security strategy’s objectives?
• Objectives of NFSS:
– Make 90 percent of the population food secure by
2020
– Reduce chronic malnutrition (stunting) among
children by at least 10 percentage points by 2020
• Investments will be needed in all priority
sectors

14. Public spending overview
Public investments made up only about 10 percent of GDP in 2012,
compared to 24 percent for energy subsidies
Source: IMF 2013, Article IV consultation

15. Public investment overview by sector
Agriculture and health & education make up about 11 percent of
capital spending
Source: Own representation based on MOPIC 2012

16. How to allocate additional investments by sector?
Example of growth acceleration from JSEA
Source: World Bank, EU, UN, IsDB 2012: Joint Social and Economic Assessment

17. How to allocate investments by governorate?
There seems to be no relation between public spending allocation and
food insecurity rates
Source: Yemen National Food Security Strategy, simplified version)

18. Example of comprehensive food security investment project
(1)
Basic infrastructure Costs (US$)
Agriculture
Irrigation program1
Water-harvesting reservoir (including open cisterns, closed tanks, spring
protection works, fencing, protection walls, sedimentation basins,
conveyance canals, water-drawing pipes), average cost per unit 33,700
Trade and transportation
Road network1
Asphalt main road, per km 70,100
Feeder unpaved road, per km 37,800
Health and education
Water and sanitation
Nonmechanized community spring water system, per capita1 50
Piped drinking water connection in the house through drinking water network,
per capita2 6
Piped sewage water connection in the house through sewage network, per
capita2 19
Combined drinking water and sewage water connection in the house through
networks (full coverage, gradual) , per capita2 21.5
Electricity1
Community electricity program with generator, per capita 37
Health facilities3
Construction (new), per unit
Health unit 40,000
Sources: (1) Alcaraz et al. 2010 based on IFAD 2010, specific for Yemen; (2) Hutton and Bartram 2008,
for selected Middle Eastern and North African countries; (3) Compernolle 2005, specific for Yemen; (4) Ogawa 2004, specific for Yemen.
Note: Costs are reported as estimated for the year of the study.

19. Basic infrastructure Costs ( (US$)
Health center 180,000
Rural hospital 860,000
Governorate hospital 3,225,000
Referral hospital 4,000,000
Upgrade and equipping, per unit
Health unit 27,000
Health center 77,000
Rural hospital 450,000
Governorate hospital 900,000
Referral hospital 2,500,00
Maintenance (annual), per unit
Health unit 3,350
Health center 12,850
Rural hospital 65,500
Governorate hospital 330,000
Referral hospital 464,000
School4
Construction of classroom, per unit 16,000
Example of comprehensive food security investment project
(2)
Sources: (1) Alcaraz et al. 2010 based on IFAD 2010, specific for Yemen; (2) Hutton and Bartram 2008,
for selected Middle Eastern and North African countries; (3) Compernolle 2005, specific for Yemen; (4) Ogawa 2004, specific for Yemen.
Note: Costs are reported as estimated for the year of the study.

20. Spatial monitoring and evaluation system
Access to water % Sanitation facilities %
(water <= 40% and
sanitation <= 44%)
Number of food
insecure >= 50,000
Accessibility
Access to local markets Access to health facilities
Sources: (1) Alcaraz et al. 2010 based on IFAD 2010, specific for Yemen; (2) Hutton and Bartram 2008,
for selected Middle Eastern and North African countries; (3) Compernolle 2005, specific for Yemen; (4) Ogawa 2004, specific for Yemen.
Note: Costs are reported as estimated for the year of the study.

21. Next steps
• How much additional funding for food security is
requires to achieve the NFSS objectives?
• How to allocate those resources
– Across sectors?
– Across governorates/districts?
– Over time from 2014-2020?
• How to monitor and evaluate progress?
• How to foster awareness and information campaigns?
• Close coordination and cross-sector collaboration will
be critical for success!