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Basotho urged to pursue agriculture

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Mimi Machakaire

THE Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Lesotho, Yves Klompenhouwer raised concerns over the decline in agricultural productivity in Lesotho and urged Basotho to commit to farming for improved yield for this summer agricultural season.

Lesotho’s agricultural production suffered a heavy blow in the 2015/16 cropping due to the drought effects of the El Niño phenomenon.

In February 2016, the Government of Lesotho declared a state of emergency following the drought which was described by climate experts as the country’s worst in 43 years.

Lesotho needs to increase productivity to achieve food security and reduce dependence on food imports mainly from neighbouring South Africa. However, although the 2015/16 El Niño phenomenon was unique, Lesotho’s food production has been deteriorating for more than two decades, signalling a need for more action to turn the tide.

In an interview with the Sunday Express, Mr Klompenhouwer said the continued decline in agricultural production is a major concern that demands remedial actions.

“If I can give an example, during the 1991-2000 period, cereal yields averaged 886 kg per hectare of harvested land. This declined to an average of 631 kg per hectare in the 2001-2010 period,” Mr Klompenhouwer said. Factors including recurrent droughts, soil erosion, loss of soil fertility, loss of interest in agriculture, poor land-use practices and weak water management systems are attributed to the decline.

He further explained that agricultural value-added per worker also declined from M302 in 1990 to M215 in 2010. As for the livestock sector, he cited the production of wool which has also gone down to 2.7 kg per sheep in 2010/11 from 5 kg in the 1970s.

“The key words to describe Lesotho is chronically vulnerable and to explain this we need to identify the sources of that vulnerability.”

He explained that as a mountainous country, the chances of being food insecure is one in eight, meaning suffering from hunger is probable.

“This has to do with the fact that the linkages of mountainous countries with the rest of the world are more difficult. There’s a commonality that Lesotho has with other mountainous areas such as the Himalayas. It is a mountainous country that is lower than the other countries and therefore vulnerable to hunger. It is also more vulnerable to climate change because of the particularities of water management in mountainous countries, the soils and the climate,” Mr Klompenhouwer said.

The situation for Lesotho is even more serious because, he said, the country is battling the HIV and AIDS threat, which increases its vulnerability.

“It is also important to note how issues related to political instability also affects food production because this slows down the decision making.

He said despite the challenges, all hope is not lost.

“There is increased international support aiming to address vulnerabilities associated with climate change. For Lesotho in particular, there is awareness on what needs to be done to ensure ecosystem restoration. There are many economic benefits that come with ensuring corrective measures are taken to make way for increased food production,” Mr Klompenhouwer said.

These benefits include, he said, income generation, job creation and contributing to a healthy nation.

“If we look to the future, the global scenarios project that by 2030, more people will be living in the urban areas. Having more people and higher incomes can translate to a high demand for food or agricultural products in the future. This shows that the market for agricultural produce is likely to grow, creating the need to also increase production to meet the demand for food,” he said.

He said currently, a lot needs to be done to turn the production tide in expectant of the projected high demand for food.

“As much as we see opportunities to turn the situation around, it will require significant rethinking and investing in creating an environment that, for example, aim to increase productivity by smallholder farmers.

“Supporting farmers is crucial, particularly by ensuring access to agricultural extension services for knowledge transfer and making the cost of production affordable. Farmers require support that is easy to access and focused on what they need rather than what certain experts think they should be getting. It is an issue of supporting farmers, but in a way that shows understanding of the context and needs to ensure improved agricultural productivity,” Mr Klompenhouwer said.

 

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