05 August 2024, Maseru: FAO Director General Qu Dongyu met with The Honourable Lejone Mpotjoane, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations of the Kingdom of Lesotho in Maseru.
The Minister welcomed the Director-General to Lesotho and appreciated the long-established relations and strong cooperation that exists between the government of Lesotho and FAO.
He stated that the government had positioned agriculture as a priority, but that there were still some shortcomings which needed to be addressed to achieve food security and transform agrifood systems in the country. The Minister also expressed the need to establish an implementing arm within the Ministry of Agriculture to further develop the agriculture sector.
The Minister further stated that there was a need to establish a center to sell produce from smallholder farmers and to develop agro-processing, as this would empower these farmers and improve their livelihoods. He further noted this would also extend to school feeding schemes/programmes and in the process address malnutrition, which was a huge challenge in the country, particularly for children from less privileged families. The Minister solicited FAO’s support in setting up both the Agriculture Development Agency within the Ministry, and the establishment of centers for agro-processing.
The Director-General thanked the Minister for the warm welcome and noted that Lesotho was strategically positioned to improve its agrifood system because of its altitude being entirely above 1000 meters in elevation above sea level. He stated that this strategic position gives Basotho the advantage to grow and diversify their agricultural outputs throughout the year.
The Director-General agreed that the proposed implementing agency for agriculture was indeed key, but emphasized that the development of inputs such as seeds and fertilizers was the most critical, as well as the establishment of one comprehensive institute for research to facilitate implementation. He noted that the proposals for its establishment could be prepared and presented to development partners with FAO’s technical support.
The Director-General also expressed the need to establish a standards monitoring institution, and emphasized the importance of private sector engagement for processing and selling of end products. He further stated that value chains should be established after feasibility studies had been conducted to ensure sustainability.
The Director-general reaffirmed FAO’s commitment to support smallholder rural farmers to improve and increase their productivity, and improve their livelihoods. He emphasized the need to establish Green Cities combined with agriculture, noting that fruit tree planting was of critical importance to mitigate climate change.
The pair agreed to continue working together towards agrifood system transformation in line with the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life – leaving no one behind.
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