Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition (MAFSN) Berea said winter cropping season is in full swing with farmers cultivating mainly wheat and peas at their fields.
District Agricultural Officer (DAO) Mrs Monica Hawkins confirmed the development during an interview with Lesotho News Agency (LENA) on Monday.
Mrs Hawkins said sales of farming inputs such as fertilizers and seeds for farmers at individual capacity or for block farmers is currently in progress.
She pointed out that for farmers to secure such farming inputs, they are first required to consult their Extension Officers at the resource’s centres with the aim to cross check their fields.
DAO further said before placing a payment, farmers are first required to have cultivated their fields so that they can be provided with the quantity of farming inputs relative to the land cultivated, adding that they have put in place a monitoring that such farming inputs are used for the intended purpose.
In response to why the Ministry of Agriculture has imposed such strict measures, DAO said it has come to their attention that some farmers used to buy fertilizers in large quantities only to store them at their places to be used in the next agricultural season and thus blocking the usage for those who are in dire need.
One of the farmers, Mrs Mamonts’o Ntabanyane said investing in agriculture recently is quite risky because of climate change and unstable weather events such as prolonged drought, heavy rains, and early frost.
She said in as much as agriculture is regarded as a pillar of economic growth in the country, they are hit hard by delay in accessing farming inputs and they end up using organic manure and thus resulting in poor yield.
She therefore urged the government to reconsider mobilizing such farming inputs to their local cooperatives stores so that they can easily access them, unlike getting into heavy costs of travelling to Teyateyaneng.
Berea is one the lowlands districts which have arable land for crops production.
Source: Lesotho News Agency (LENA) 02/07/2024
