Press release number: IFAD 42/04

Rome, 17 December 2004 – A new US$12 million programme will help to improve living conditions of landless and small-scale farmers in three southern districts of Mafeteng, Mohale’s Hoek and Quthing in Lesotho.

The programme will create opportunities for poor rural households to improve their food security and increase their incomes through better use and management of natural resources, such as land and water, and improved agriculture and livestock production techniques.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will largely finance this programme with a US$10.1 million loan. The Government of Lesotho will contribute US$1.7 million and beneficiary households will provide US$200,000 towards soil and water conservation works.

The loan agreement was signed today at IFAD’s headquarters by Mr. Kabelo Mafura, Chargé d’ Affaires, Embassy of the Kingdom of Lesotho in Rome and the Vice- President of IFAD, Mr. Cyril Enweze.

Recurrent droughts and increasing land degradation in the southern districts of Lesotho are some of the major causes of food insecurity and famine. Poor rural households depend on rain-fed agriculture and traditional animal husbandry techniques, but these systems can no longer guarantee basic food needs for the poorest households. The programme will promote the adoption of a wide range of ecologically sound production technologies critical for agricultural diversification and intensification in a manner compatible with the country’s fragile agro-ecology.

In order to increase food availability, the programme will help landless households and subsistence farmers to establish homestead gardens and efficiently utilize available water resources. Women, who account for about half of all heads of households in the districts, will be the main beneficiaries of such activities.

Livestock production is also a source of income for landless and small-scale farmers in the area. The programme will provide basic veterinary support, including the establishment of three district veterinary clinics and a national disease surveillance network. District abattoirs will be renovated to avoid public health risks.

With this programme, IFAD will have provided the Government of Lesotho with funding for 6 development projects since 1980, for a total amount of US$ 41.1 million.

---

IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries. There are more than 200 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, worth a total of US$6.5 billion. IFAD has invested about US$ 3 billion in these programmes. Cofinancing has been provided by partners including governments, beneficiaries, and multilateral and bilateral donors. At full development, these programmes will help more than 100 million rural poor men and women to achieve better lives for themselves and their families.