Country papers: Lesotho
Raditapole, M.; Faku, G.; Makhata, H.M.; Mohloboli, M.
Vegetable research and development in SADCC countries Proceedings of a workshop held at Arusha, Tanzania, 9-13 July 1990: 93-95
1990
Document Number: 636537
Lesotho's agricultural land constitutes 12% of total land area: about 85% of the 1.5 million people live in rural areas. Although only about 17 000 ha are devoted to horticultural crops, these crops contribute around 11% of annual gross income, through vegetables for home consumption. Fruit production is a horticultural enterprise with much potential for Lesotho. The backyard production of peaches has an annual value greater than any other crop, including maize and sorghum which are the major staples and occupy most of the arable land. The basic goal of Lesotho agricultural research and development programmes is to increase agricultural productivity and efficiency: this is aimed at combatting high rural unemployment, depressed rural incomes, and other rural problems. Research in Lesotho is basically project-driven, and a fundamental problem is the low level of funding by the government. Fruit and vegetable research is one of the five core programmes within the Agricultural Research Division. The objective of this programme is to focus on the development of technologies for increasing the quantity and quality of fruits and vegetables for internal consumption and for export. These technologies would include those for intensive production under rainfed, irrigation and other water management regimes, with emphasis on improved crop quality and high incomes per unit area.