Maseru, Jan. 29 — The Minister of Trade and Business Development Mr. Mokhethi Shelile urged farmers to ramp up their agricultural production so that they could sell to the international market.
This, he said at the one-day stakeholders forum staged by the Portfolio Committee on the Economic and Development Cluster and brought together amongst others, Farmers Associations, the private sector, representatives from National University of Lesotho, Central Bank of Lesotho and Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, with the objective to share views on how farming can be commercialized.
Mr. Shelile said the forum’s theme, “Expanding from Subsistence to Commercial Farming” emphasizes the need to transition to commercial farming thus it is vital for farmers to produce quality in large quantities to meet market demands.
“Lesotho Milling Company needs 3000 tons of maize and 2000 of wheat but the country does not produce enough,” he said.
He also said he learned during the forum that farmers are in need of an agricultural laboratory that measures produce standards, saying such a facility is currently under construction at Tikoe in Maseru and worth about M258 Million.
Speaking at the same event, the Acting Deputy Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition Mr Thabo Sekhonyana said the Ministry is entrusted to pave the way and ensure Basotho have food security thus farmers should know where the market is, saying this could be achieved through trainings provided at resource centres.
The Parliamentary Chair of Chairs Mr. Mokhothu Makhalanyane said although agriculture is the heart and backbone of Lesotho’s economy, it is not contributing much to the country. . .
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