an adherent or supporter of a person, group, party, or cause, especially a person who shows a biased, emotional allegiance. Military. a member of a party of light or irregular troops engaged in harassing an enemy, especially a member of a guerrilla band engaged in fighting or sabotage against an occupying army.
They grow beans, lentils, onions, and tomatoes in gardens. People on the Tihamah raise durra and some dates and cotton. Agriculture in southern Yemen is limited to the few areas with underground water for irrigation. Farmers grow three or four crops a year of barley, millet, sesame, sorghum, and wheat. Since the early 1980's, the Yemenis have worked to turn desert areas into farmland by means of dams, irrigation, and other water and agricultural development projects. Khat is the leading cash crop of Yemen. It comes from the leaves of a woody shrub that grows in the highlands. Coffee is another important cash crop. Coffee plants grow on terraces cut into the hills. Ancient aqueducts (water channels) carry water to the terraces. Aden's oil refinery and port provide Yemen with much of its income.
It is estimated that up to 90% of adult males chew khat three to four hours daily in Yemen. The number for females may be as high as 50% or even higher as young women take up the habit; a recent study for the World Bank estimated that 73% of women in Yemen chew the khat leaf more or less frequently.early 60% of the land cultivated for cash crops is devoted to khat growing. And khat doesnât just push out other more desirable crops, it also sucks in water. According to Qahtan Al-Asbahi between 27â30% of Yemenâs ground water goes into khat irrigation.