Farmers use solar energy to irrigate their lands amid high fuel price

The high prices of petroleum products, especially diesel, in Yemen forced many farmers to use solar energy to operate pumps to extract groundwater to irrigate their crops.

Farmers expressed their satisfaction with the use of the solar irrigation system in light of the scarcity and high prices of the fuel needed to operate the pumps.

Meanwhile, specialists warned of the danger of digging random wells in the depleted groundwater, adding that the use of solar energy for irrigation in large spaces and without engineering planning causes a sharp drop in the water level.

A total of 70 percent of Yemenis, about 29 million, live in rural areas, and more than 50 percent depend on agriculture. Rainfall and groundwater are the main sources of water in Yemen.