King Letsie 111 co-chaired an agricultural roundtable session alongside the President of Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani where the theme of this discussion was ‘Developing sustainable and value-added Agriculture’.
King Letsie 111 said, to effect meaningful transformation in agricultural food systems, Africa must invest in human capital, he emphasized the need to empower youth and women as leaders and equal partners within agricultural value chains.
He said these groups should not merely be viewed as beneficiaries, but by recognizing their essential contributions in agriculture value chains.
He further stated that investing in nutrition-sensitive agriculture is essential for shaping food systems to meet the growing needs of the population.
This approach goes beyond simply providing sufficient calories, but it emphasizes delivering a diverse range of nutritious foods that support individuals’ overall health and well-being.
In his speech, he also stressed the need to develop resilient, climate-smart agricultural systems that can effectively adapt to the growing challenges posed by climate change.
The King also highlighted the need to invest in local processing to ensure that value remains within Africa’s economies, saying Africa should also focus on strengthening regional trade to decrease its reliance on imports.
This roundtable discussion was held at the Africa Forward Summit 2026 held in Nairobi, Kenya from the 11th to 12th May under the theme ‘Partnerships between Africa and France for innovation and growth’.
Source: Lesotho News Agency [LENA]
