Hodeidah is Yemen food basket : president Saleh says

HODEIDAH, Jan. 28 (Saba) – President Ali Abdullah Saleh described Hodeidah governorate as the food basket of Yemen, which provides many Yemeni governorates with food and red and white meats. During his meeting here on Monday with a number of senior officials of Hodeidah governorate, Saleh appreciated efforts have been done by the governorate’s officials to increase the production rates and to serve the people as well, demanding them to fight all the negative phenomena that obstruct the development process. He pointed out to the role the local councils should play to enhance the comprehensive development in Hodeidah as the governorate has a huge potentials capabilities to advance the agricultural, tourist and fishery domains. The president stressed the importance of expansion of agriculture through reclaiming more lands, regarding the agricultural and fishery sectors the essential resources of the national economy. He added that the government would keep on supporting the fishery and agricultural sectors through establishing more dams and presenting all the facilitations to the Cooperative Associations and fishermen to double the fishery production. Saleh indicated to the constitutional amendments to improve the political system in the country he announced last year, saying that the local councils would contribute to the development process depending on the accountabilities they would obtain. President Saleh ordered industry and trade ministry and all its brunches to control the foodstuffs’ prices in the markets, noting that the prices hikes are due to international rises and they will not last. During the meeting, Saleh has been briefed on the performance level of the governmental offices and local councils in the governorate in addition to implementation progress in some investment and development projects. TD/AF Saba