By Thoboloko Ntšonyane
MASERU
At the recently concluded Extra-Ordinary Summit on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), held in Kampala, Uganda, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), Justice Nthomeng Majara has underscored Lesotho’s dedication to fostering intra-African cooperation and industrialisation.
The DPM has led a delegation to discuss the nation’s commitment to agricultural transformation and industrialisation and the delegation included the Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, Hon Thabo Mofosi, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Hon Lejone Mpotjoane.
She emphasised the importance of collective efforts to prioritise agriculture, stating, “It is our duty as governments and leaders to give agriculture and agri-food systems the priority they deserve for the benefit of our people.”
She continued: “As Lesotho, we realise the utmost importance of the collective efforts of our continent to prioritise agriculture as a means to ensure that every human being’s fundamental right to have access to food is met.
“We are confronted with the harsh reality reflected in the report published by the World Health Organisations in 2024, which stipulated that one in five people were faced with hunger in the continent of Africa in 2023.
“Lesotho welcomes with appreciation the draft declaration presented before us. With commitment and political will, achieving the goals of shifting to the agri-food systems approach, achieving food security and food sovereignty, increasing intra-African agricultural trade is no longer far-fetched.”
The Summit, attended by dignitaries including the Preisdent of Uganda Yoweri Museveni, President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania, Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, and Prime Minister Russel Dlamini of Eswatini, focused on strategies to enhance agricultural productivity across the continent.
The Summit resolved to: Shift towards agri-food systems approaches.
Achieve food security and sovereignty.
Increase intra-African agricultural trade.
Lesotho reaffirmed its dedication to these goals, highlighting initiatives such as developing infrastructure to support rural farmers and investing in irrigation systems. Deputy Prime Minister Majara noted, “The Kingdom is working tirelessly to ensure that with its abundant water resources, irrigation systems are fortified across the country.”
The government also announced an increase in the national budget allocation to the agriculture sector to approximately 7% for the fiscal year 2024/2025, marking progress towards the CAADP target.
Lesotho has yet to achieve self-sufficiency in food production, raising concerns among commercial farmers, who have called on the government to create a more equitable playing field.
Speaking before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on the Economic Cluster, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Thabo Moleko, stated that the Ministry would be better positioned to plan effectively once the budget has been tabled. This was in response to the Committee’s criticism of the Ministry for awarding a tender to a company lacking the capacity to efficiently distribute farming inputs, leaving many farmers unable to produce.
Meanwhile, there are growing fears that the country’s limited food production, exacerbated by insufficient support for farmers and ongoing drought conditions, will lead to rising food prices.
“We have the power to reverse the adverse consequences of low agricultural production and transform our agri-food systems for the better; these are achievable goals,” said the DPM.