This reiterates how Qat could potentially cause major illness or even death. Despite causing health hazards, Qat is also a leading cause to the water scarcity problem that is currently occurring in Yemen today. Qat is known to being a "greedy" plant mainly because it consumes almost half of the water that is being used in farms, which results in important farming exports getting a minimal amount of water. However, farmers are not fazed by this as Qat is very high in demand in Yemen due to the fact that about ninety percent of the male population chew Qat regularly. As Adam Heffez from the Council on Foreign Relations suggests, "Farmers are willing to put up with the plant's high demand for water because it has a more regular yield than other crops and because the market for it is virtually guaranteed" (Heffez, 2013). This unfortunately suggests the fact that the drug is the number one grown crop in Yemen despite it causing health problems and contributing to water scarcity in the poverty stricken country.
The capital of Yemen, Sana'a, is very well known in the region for its heavy rainfall that occurs almost throughout the whole year. Some may find it strange that a city that has the most rainfall in the region may potentially become the first city in the world to run out of water completely. However, the Sana'a population have neglected the rain water for many years and it turned against them over the years. As stated in this article, "Attempts by the government to harvest rainwater are very limited, according to Ramon Scoble" (IRIN, 2010). This suggests the minimal amount of effort made by the Yemeni government to utilize the rain water. Instead of using rain water, the people of Yemen rely on water pumps that are very expensive and can cause potential pollution. In an interview with my older brother who has worked in a refugee camp in Aden, he explains, "Many families are currently suffering due to the high prices of water pumps.
