By Matṧeliso Phulane
The Wool and Mohair Promotion Project (WAMPP) comes to an end in December this year, and its track record can at best be described as a mixed bag of results if what the farmers themselves say is anything to go by.
While many farmers hail the project for significantly enhancing the industry, there are those who claim it was selective in its services.
The project started in 2015 with the aim of boosting resilience to the adverse effects of climate change and economic shocks among poor rural people across the country. WAMPP is national in scope, covering all of 10 Lesotho’s administrative districts, with a focus on the rangelands that cover more than two thirds of the country’s surface.
The project also pays special attention to poor rural women and young people with emphasis on foothills where there are more incidences of food insecurity.
It was funded to the tune of M38.9 million by the Opec Fund for International Development, the government of Lesotho, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Adaptation for Smallholder Agricultural Programme and the Lesotho National Wool and Mohair Growers Association (LNMWGA).
In an interview, wool and mohair farmer Mpho Sekonyela of Ha Ramoruthane in the Maseru district, said he was among the ram breeders who managed to get a contribution of M30 000 each to buy rams that cost M345 000, after passing a WAMPP interview.
He is a member of the Maseru-based Khosana Lerotholi Ram Breeders Association and is one of the farmers who had joined the WAMPP project as individuals.
Sekonyela noted that they assumed WAMPP would further assist with the acquisition of animal feed in order to ensure proper feeding and safeguard a proper breeding line, like it had done for LNWMGA members.
“As breeders we had naturally hoped WAMPP would go beyond buying us rams, and help us strategise on how to have a clear breeding line to ensure continued enhancement of the small stock from generation to generation.
“Apart from that, we thought WAMPP would also help farmers who had bought rams to find high quality ewes to start rebreeding. We also thought WAMPP would assist with proper feeding for our rams.
“However, that was not to be. As a result, I would say despite its noble goals WAMPP came to us a bit too late in 2021 and could not make the desired or intended impact,” Sekonyela lamented.
On the flip side, in addition to the M30 000 ram procurement contribution for individual farmers, some of the benefits of WAMPP was that it trained farmers in Quthing on how to take care of their livestock and other matters related to sheep and goat rearing, and they appreciate that.
“WAMPP has really performed well but, in my opinion, as far as individual farmers are concerned, they were undone by the project not showing up sooner.
“Not every farmer managed to get an opportunity to buy rams since the project only came to us in 2021, and it is possible the purchasing was only completed this year,” Sekonyela said.
On the other hand, LNWMGA chairperson, Mokoenehi Thinyane, says even though his organisation faced some challenges while working with WAMPP, members benefited a lot from the project.
Thinyane indicated that, among others, WAMPP handed over to the association two farms in Mokhotlong and Quthing, and also bought them rams and ewes. He said the intention was for the farmers to breed and earn more money.
Thinyane said the project introduced an initiative under which farmers would swap their goats for better quality billy goats bought by the project.
“WAMPP has constructed 22 new shearing sheds around the country and upgraded 43 which were already existing. The shearing sheds now have water supply and electricity connection to maximise efficient shearing,” he said.
Thinyane noted that the major challenge they have always encountered was delayed delivery of animal feeds to the farms.
Some of the components which the project focused on included: climate-smart rangeland management designed to establish sustainable systems of communal grazing, rangeland management with the objective of improving livestock nutrition and maximising production and returns for smallholder wool and mohair producers.
WAMPP’s other major focus areas were: building climate change resilience of those involved in the rangeland sector; improved livestock production and management to increase the quantity and quality of wool and mohair produced by smallholder farmers in Lesotho.
The final one was wool and mohair processing and marketing while supporting the capacity of livestock owners to adopt a more commercial approach to improve market returns through effective and efficient handling of wool and mohair to improve the quality, thereby raising returns for livestock producers.
Interventions include promoting shearing shed associations, enterprise development, strengthening fibre handling and grading at shearing sheds, conducting improvement of shearing shed facilities and investing in access.
When complete, the project was estimated to cost around M100 million. It was expected that if the objectives were met, the farmers would be able to conserve their rangelands and environment, as well as produce quality wool and mohair. They were also expected to meet market requirements for their production and increase their income.
In an interview with theReporter, the director of WAMPP, Retṧelisitsoe Khoalenyane, said the project has reached its duration after it was given an extension of 12 months because the project started late, which was 18 months later than scheduled.
The delay was a consequence of changing weather patterns which were induced by climate change.
Khoalenyane indicated that about 96 percent of the project’s total funds have been spent so far.
“This wind-up period is a time when we start doing the end line survey which focuses on assessing activities and their effectiveness after implementation of the project.
“This is a time when we look at the impact of the project to the beneficiaries, by conducting interviews for both direct and indirect beneficiaries. Apart from that, there is also a financial and economic analysis study, this is whereby we look back to check, as per design, the impact of the project to the nation,” Khoalenyane explained.
He said that the overall studies are still being conducted to reveal what has been achieved by the project and their outcomes will be available towards the end of October.
WAMPP has laid a solid foundation for some of their envisaged outcomes such as proper management of rangelands promotion of national breeding of angora goats and merino sheep, he added.
“As far as range management is concerned, we have covered a total of 600 hectares. Apart from that, the improvement of wool and mohair collection has been an achievement, as we have built shearing sheds. We have also laid a foundation towards the enhancement of the wool and mohair value chain,” Khoalenyane concluded.
An estimated 90 percent of Lesotho’s wool and 58 percent of mohair products are sold in South Africa through the Lesotho National Wool and Mohair Growers Association’s relationship with SA broker BKB Ltd.
While they are tempted by the lure of quick cash from the sale of raw wool and mohair to foreign brokers, local farmers do appreciate the benefits of Lesotho’s wool and mohair being processed domestically rather than being exported in its unprocessed form, in order to create jobs, enhance skills and diversify the country’s economy.
WAMPP’s efforts are part of a national gradual shift towards strengthening the value chain.
A strong value chain would provide an opportunity and incentives for domestic firms/actors to add potential maximum value to the locally generated raw materials to benefit the local economies through increased productivity, job creation, and income and revenue accumulation.
According to agricultural economists, this normally leads to human capacity development, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) growth and development, foreign direct investment and domestic investment, which all leads to economic growth and overall prosperity.
