{"id":2745,"date":"2021-08-29T09:22:37","date_gmt":"2021-08-29T09:22:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/bean-deal-for-lesotho-farmers"},"modified":"2021-08-29T09:22:37","modified_gmt":"2021-08-29T09:22:37","slug":"bean-deal-for-lesotho-farmers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/bean-deal-for-lesotho-farmers","title":{"rendered":"Bean deal for Lesotho farmers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Lesotho<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>A local food packaging company has come to the rescue of farmers who were struggling to get a reliable market for their beans because of the Covid-19 crisis.<\/p>\n

Tasty Food Packers has sealed a deal to buy beans from local farmers.
\nIn the past two years, farmers were supplying beans to the World Food Programme (WFP)\u2019s school feeding programme.
\nBut this year\u2019s harvest came after schools closed in March due to Covid-19.
\nAs such hundreds of farmers found themselves stuck with their harvest.
\nSome, like \u2019Mapula Makara, started selling to individuals who bought small quantities.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a farmer I am now relieved that there is a market for my produce, as through LENAFU we were able to meet with a local food packer who is willing to buy from us,\u201d Makara said.
\n\u201cThe problem that we had in the past months of not knowing what to do with our sugar beans is now in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is left is for us to work hard and increase our production in the next season,\u201d Makara said.
\n\u201cAt the end of the day we should all benefit, avoid having one person benefit a lot more than the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

That misery ended last week when farmers negotiated with Tasty Food Packers to buy their beans.<\/p>\n

Khotso Lepheane, the Programmes Manager of the Lesotho National Farmers\u2019 Association (LENAFU), described the agreement as \u201ca milestone\u201d.
\nHe said the deal comes at a time when most farmers were struggling to sell their beans.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome were even selling them for very little just so that they could get money. With this new market not only will farmers have a buyer for their produce but they will also be selling them at an acceptable price,\u201d Lepheane said.<\/p>\n

Lepheane said another crucial aspect of the meeting was about knowing the quantities of beans available in the country.
\n\u201cWe are still expecting numbers from farmers across the country. So far we know that we have over 800 bags of 50 kilograms of beans, we expect this number to rise significantly when all numbers are in,\u201d Lepheane said.<\/p>\n

The agreed price, he said, was that the packer would pay M16 per kilogram.
\n\u201cThe M16 is the selling price floor. No farmer should go below that. Inconsistency in prices is not good for our industry hence we had to nip it in the bud before it has significant damage,\u201d Lepheane said.
\n\u201cAs farmers, at this point we are satisfied and determined to increase our produce.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lepheane also applauded the government\u2019s recent decision to buy maize and beans from farmers.
\n\u201cWe hope that when time comes for implementation farmers will be notified so that they can take their produce to designated areas of sale on specific dates,\u201d Lepheana said.
\nHe said failure to consult and communicate properly with farmers can taint the whole initiative.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Prime Minister\u2019s announcement needs clear policy guideline for implementation otherwise only the few with connections will end up benefiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniel Chakela, a farmer in Leribe, said they are grateful for this opportunity as they still have a lot of beans in storage.
\n\u201cSome company bought a hundred and eighty bags weighing fifty kilograms of beans but only 18 farmers benefitted. Hundreds more are still left out, so this new market will relieve farmers of market related stress and enable them to focus on production,\u201d Chakela said.<\/p>\n

Chakela added that the loss of the WFP market had left them stranded as they had tried to get into commercial farming and for the past two years they were seeing significant growth amongst farmers.<\/p>\n

\u2019Matseleng Keele, Officer at Tasty Food Packers, told thepost that indeed they have opened their doors to bean farmers to supply them with produce.
\nShe said this is the beginning of a long journey ahead.
\n\u201cWe are looking for a lot of beans and specifically first grade sugar beans.
\nWe are asking bean farmers with stock to come see us,\u201d Keele said.
\nShe added that they are already receiving beans from farmers. \u201cThey are allowed to bring their produce to Maputsoe, or organise other farmers to keep them at a certain storage facility and we can come there,\u201d Keele said.
\n\u201cIndividuals with at least hundred bags will be met halfway in terms of transport.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said they are happy with the quality of beans they have been receiving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. A local food packaging company has come to the rescue of farmers who were struggling to get a reliable market for their beans because of the Covid-19 crisis. Tasty Food Packers has sealed a deal to buy beans from local farmers. In the past two years, farmers were supplying beans to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":2744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,8,16],"tags":[233,246,313,245],"class_list":["post-2745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-homepage-english","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-lesotho","tag-farmers","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nBean deal for Lesotho farmers - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/bean-deal-for-lesotho-farmers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bean deal for Lesotho farmers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Lesotho. A local food packaging company has come to the rescue of farmers who were struggling to get a reliable market for their beans because of the Covid-19 crisis. Tasty Food Packers has sealed a deal to buy beans from local farmers. 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