His Majesty King Letsie lll has called all to view agriculture as a means to unlock Lesotho’s potential, promote food security and transform the agricultural sector in its entirety.
He said this when addressing a high level dialogue themed ‘The Future of Food Security in Lesotho,’ held in Maseru on Tuesday.
He explained that August has been earmarked for food month, this with the aim to help the nation indulge in the many years of 200 year’s, engage in robust agriculture for food production.
“We will collaborate with stakeholders, hold a series of agricultural activities for commercialization of this sector, and support farmers’ efforts bearing in mind the national motto and slogan ‘Khotso, Pula, Nala,” he added.
As the African Union Champion of Nutrition and FAO Goodwill Ambassador, he highlighted that the dialogue is an enabler to prioritizing agricultural collaborations, eliminating hunger and improving Basotho nutritional status.
He pointed to issues regarding access to finance, increasing efforts to eradicate poverty as one of the top agenda in this dialogue, thus calling on the private sector to mobilize resources, market and deliberate on solutions.
He thanked the UN entourage for having joined in a number of activities this week, thereby celebrating 200 years of the Basotho nation.
On behalf of the UN high level delegation, Dr. Qu Dongyu, Director General UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) commended the Lesotho government, saying the dialogue is very strategic and coincides with 200 years of Basotho existence.
He highlighted eco food systems a priority to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), adding food security dialogue forges a way for partnerships. “The dialogue is about how best to support Lesotho beyond today, and end poverty and hunger.” He stressed.
Meanwhile, Ms. Amanda Khozi – Mukwashi UN Resident Coordinator Lesotho said the King has shown commitment as a leader in nutrition, thus bringing it on an international scale while also aligning with National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) ll review extension.
She said in solidarity challenges facing the agricultural sector namely: climate change and el-nino drought amongst others can be tackled. “We must end hunger because the state of peace and tranquility lies in reliable access to nutritious food.” She emphasized.
The Resident Coordinator said the month of August is the new year for Basotho to start planting according to historical agriculture, thus today’s dialogue is meaningful.
Prior to the food dialogue today, His Majesty and the UN delegation participated at a field trip in Mahobong as well as a market exhibition at Masianokeng on Monday.
Lesotho News Agency (LENA) has learnt that about 700 000 Basotho are to be food insecure and this is 20 percent increase from the previous Lesotho Vulnerability Assessment Report.
Source: Lesotho News Agency (LENA) 6/8/2024
