‘Mantṧali Phakoana
Agriculture continues to feature prominently in policy debates in Lesotho despite its declining contribution to the economy.
This is because of its strategic importance to the livelihood of farming communities, poverty reduction and national food security.
According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development Country Strategic Opportunities Programme for 2020-2025, the contribution of agriculture to Lesotho’s GDP, which had been in decline, stabilised at between five and six per cent over the preceding decade.
In spite of this decline, it remains the primary source of income for approximately 38 per cent of the population and contributes to the livelihoods of 70 per cent of the rural population.
The extent to which smallholder farmers can benefit from emerging market opportunities will depend on technological, infrastructural, institutional and policy support for diversification and commercialisation of agriculture.
Farming has long been passion for ‘Mantiata Lecheko from the age of 12 as she grew up in Maboloka village in the Mafeteng district.
After school, and on weekends, Lecheko would spend her late afternoons and weekends helping her mother in a small backyard vegetable garden.
The small garden was initially meant to produce vegetables for consumption. However, as villagers started demanding to buy for their own households, the Lecheko family ended up selling, and that is where her inspiration grew.
“That’s when I realised that agriculture could be important not only for consumption but for sale too. I realised that my mother’s little garden could actually produce enough for us and the villagers as well. That is where my dream started.
“It was at the moment that I resolved that I would never in my life go around looking for a job but would focus my effort on agriculture for purposes of consumption, sale and job creation,” Lecheko said.
In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lecheko did not sit back and wallow in the misery unleashed by the outbreak; she branched into growing nutritional herbs in her small garden.
A year later, she began supplying local wholesalers with her products after entering into a contract farming agreement which is still active today. Her initial sales raked in a whopping M7,000 weekly.
There was no turning back as the demand for her products took an upward trajectory. She then teamed up with five other farms to maximise production. Together they formed a cooperative called High Value Crops Farming Lesotho whose purpose was to promote production of high-value crops by empowering farmers with the requisite knowledge and skills, among others.
High-value crops are defined as crops that provide higher net returns per hectare to the farmer. These may include potatoes, vegetables, spices, and fruits.
The move would eventually open doors to imparting knowledge to more farmers in the country as they flocked to join the cooperative.
“We are still open to the idea of more farmers joining us. We have a WhatsApp group where we communicate, and we also hold workshops countrywide.
“One hitch though; the higher the number of farmers flood the market with their produce, the harder it becomes to sell and make profits. In the end, some incur losses due to spoiled harvests.
“Then there is also the threat of changing weather patterns such as excessive rains which compromise the quality and value of our vegetables; this means more losses to farmers,” she explained.
Lecheko reiterated the cooperative’s vision to help fight unemployment by training Basotho farmers until they understand that high crops value farming is easy and cheap to maintain but has a high turnover.
She is currently training farmers on how to grow crops like turmeric, garlic and ginger.
She says because of their strong aroma, most high-value crops repel pests, animals and other insects; even thieves find them repulsive.
“A farmer does not need to spend much; a single seedling gives a massive yield. An example is broad beans; six seeds yield 10 litres of beans. They sell at M260, a remarkable return,” she said.
Lecheko’s strong belief in high-value crop farming is endorsed by the chief information officer of the ministry of agriculture and nutrition, Lereko Masopha, who describes the addition of value as a central theme in agriculture.
According to Masopha, the concept entails adding value at every stop, from production to delivery of a product.
“This creates opportunities for farmers and companies to find competitive advantages. It also has the potential of improving food security and creating employment. High value crops are very profitable but, just like any product, farmers must ensure they have a target market beforehand.
“Farmers can grow as many high value crops as possible every year to increase chances of them being ready for the market when prices are favourable. We (the ministry) also intend to impart knowledge of high-value crops so farmers are informed on the merits and care of such crops,” he said.
The ministry is in the process of transforming farming in the country from subsistence to commercial, in the quest to curb unemployment and generate income.
Lesotho’s agricultural system faces a growing number of climate-related vulnerabilities with drought, floods, pests, and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently.
In response to this, the government of Lesotho is collaborating with the World Bank to integrate climate change into the country’s agriculture policy agenda through the Lesotho Climate-Smart Agriculture Investment Plan (CSAIP).
The process combines modelling approaches and consultations with stakeholders in the public and private sectors, civil society, and farmer groups, the CSAIP evaluates context-specific opportunities for scaling up climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in Lesotho.
The Lesotho CSAIP has CSA investments that offer the greatest potential to transform Lesotho’s agriculture into a more productive, resilient, and low-emissions sector.
It provides evidence that the adoption of climate-smart agriculture offers multiple wins: increased productivity and incomes; enhanced food security and dietary diversity; reduced impacts of climate change on agricultural produce; and improved commercialization, employment opportunities and rural livelihoods.
CSA can also reduce soil erosion, generate carbon sequestration, conserve biodiversity, and provide other public goods that accrue to society well beyond the farmers engaged in market transactions alone.
The current agricultural production pathway in Lesotho focuses on extensive animal grazing and expansion of agricultural cropland to keep pace with food demand for the population.
The pathway is characterised by agricultural support for a monoculture cropping system dominated by maize. This pathway is largely unsustainable and depletes the land resources on which production relies on over time.
Agriculture is an important source of employment and subsistence in Lesotho. With the majority of Basotho more than 70 percent depend on agriculture for both food and income. This sector holds the most potential for increasing food security, reducing rural poverty and generating on and off farm jobs.
However, according to the World Bank, climate change, extreme weather and global economic shocks pose a challenge to the development of the agriculture sector in Lesotho.
A Smallholder Agriculture Development Project (SADP) report says the government has implemented the programme with a focus on strengthening food security. The government through the SADP project, trained farmers in good agricultural practices, including climate smart drip irritation.
Such training, together with grant financing support, has increased farmers’ use of the modern technologies that have improved production, market access and livelihoods, since the start of the project in 2012.
“The prolonged and severe droughts of 2016 and 2019, and the floods of the 2021 and 2022 are clear manifestations of the changing weather patterns, which is adversely affecting the agricultural sector,” SADP report reads.
The organisation is determined to support the ministry of health in fighting the food insecurity which is a challenge facing many developing countries like Lesotho.
However, reliance on food aid for food security is not a sustainable measure. Therefore, increasing agricultural productivity is considered an important initiative to assure food availability in Lesotho.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), smallholder farmers whose farms are generally less than 1 ha in size dominate the agricultural production. Maize is by far the most popular crop accounting for some 60 percent of the cropped area. Sorghum is between 10 t0 20 percent, wheat about 10 percent and beans a further six percent.
In late summer, farmers plant wheat and peas on residual moisture, which remain dormant for most of the winter until the first rains in spring.
“Although Lesotho’s main natural resource is water, drought chronically affects the country, leading to significant decreases in the contribution of agriculture to the GDP and forcing the country to appeal for assistance from the international community, thus illustrating the vulnerability of agricultural sector.
“The country is a persistent net food importer, externally sourcing up to 605 percent of its annual maize requirements and 80 percent of its annual wheat requirements. The government of Lesotho sees irrigation as a key avenue for increased agricultural production and household food security, as it would enable vegetables and fruits such as paprika, asparagus and apples,” WHO reports.
