Heroin

Decades of U.S. and international food aid to Yemen, including hundreds of thousands of tonnes of donated wheat, have reportedly undercut local grain farmers and pushed many toward cultivating khat, a water-intensive stimulant leaf classified as a Schedule I drug in the U.S. Researchers say cheap imported grain makes it harder for Yemeni farmers to compete, while khat offers far higher profit margins despite consuming roughly 37 percent of the country's water. The trend has accelerated since a 2014 UN report, with cultivation expanding sharply amid civil war instability.

U.S. humanitarian commitments to Yemen ran as high as $1.5 billion annually before the Trump administration's dismantling of USAID sharply cut funding, leaving only a fraction of the UN's 2026 emergency appeal financed. Experts, including a Harvard historian and a Sana'a Center researcher, argue that "grain dumping" has entrenched dependency and empowered armed factions, urging locally sourced, accountable aid models instead. The State Department says it enforces strict anti-diversion standards and does not fund aid in Houthi-held areas.