A country that has a sustainable agricultural sector has economic resilience. This is because agriculture in many parts of Southern Africa including Lesotho has proven to be a significant source of income and employment. It has also proven to be a major contributor to economic empowerment especially for communities living in the rural areas.
In Lesotho, 70% of the population depend on agricultural sector for food and income, and for the sector to perform well, soil health must be taken into consideration. (World bank feature 2022) titled “Transforming Lesotho Farmers into Entrepreneurs”
The prevailing climatic conditions characterized by prolonged drought, run-off water due to heavy rains, prolonged heat, floods and cold waves to mention a few, have left soils in many parts of the country vulnerable and in need of immediate attention. Good soil management is therefore of the utmost importance if farmers are to succeed in their efforts to better the food insecurity situation currently facing the country.
Lesole Sefume, Agronomist in the Department of Agricultural Research
Upon realizing poor crop performance in some of the demonstration sites, the department of Agricultural Research in Lesotho through the assistance of Agricultural Productivity Program of Southern Africa (APPSA) engaged in soil tests. This was done to determine the root cause and find a lasting solution.
“We took soil samples, tested them and the results showed lack of organic matter”, reveals Lesole Sefume, the Agronomist in the Department of Agric Research who added that in trying to bring back the lost nutrients, they needed animal manure. “We were looking for large quantities because we were supposed to cover a large area in Maseru and Leribe. We could not find enough locally. We could only secure the required loads at Sparta, Free State in South Africa.” He disclosed.
He went on to show that the tests carried out at the main station, proved that the soil was not bad in as far as acidity was concerned. what needed immediate attention was lack of organic matter
“Maseru alone is about 30, 000 hectares and it needed 50 tons per hectare. We then realized we needed more loads to cover even Leribe and such quantity could not be secured locally”, he asserted adding that they had to import close to 15 trucks of about 34 tons each and that cost the department about M 14, 000 a load. He further indicated that they could not cover all the area that needed organic matter replenishing.
“We are hoping to cover the rest of the areas in the next financial year funds permitting,” he said.
Asked if there are efforts being made to help farmers produce and collect manure locally, Mr Sefume indicated they are encouraging them to put back maize stalks and other harvest residues into the soil so that the nutrient content is maintained.
He went on to mention that their target crops in those areas include sweet potatoes, tomatoes, maize and Beans, sorghum.
“Our intention is to ensure that we cover all the crops that Basotho depend on and by putting back the organic matter, we are trying to retain the soil moisture and its nutrition content which seems to be threatened by the recent shortage of rainfall”,
He applauded APPSA for the financial assistance that has enabled even fencing of some research areas.
Mokorone Setoromo also from the Department of Agricultural Research
Mokorone Setoromo also from the department of research revealed that low yields in some of the demonstration sites pushed them to test the soil to detect what the problem was and the test results proved lack of organic matter hence the move to secure animal manure.
“Good soil management requires that we put back the nutrients at least once a year and this time we had not done so in over two years,” he disclosed.
Asked why they choose manure over fertilizer, Setoromo showed that fertilizer has a tendency to focus on the crop growth and disregards what happens to the soil but manure on the hand enriches both the soil and the crop.
The soil health management initiative by the department, will not only improve yields in the designated areas but will also help farmers to realize its importance if they are to have good production. It is the major contributor to either the decrease or increase in the production.
The department has for now managed to secure manure from the neighboring Republic of South Africa. A challenge on how an initiative of this nature will be managed in the future still remains now that the local farmers were not able to rise up to the demand. This needs to be taken home as food for thought because good soil health will forever be part of good agricultural practice.
The 2022 Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) study on soil health in Lesotho has revealed that soil erosion is the major cause of land degradation and that 30% of the wetlands have eroded soil due to a number of factors that include climate change and overgrazing. According to the study, most of Lesotho’s soil has been left vulnerable and unable to produce crops and sustain animals.
If Lesotho is to realize sustained agricultural productivity, soil testing as part its proper management must be done on a larger scale. It speaks directly to poor or high yields key to ensuring sustainability of the sector.
The agricultural sector has the capacity to put Lesotho on track with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 1 which talks about no poverty, 2 which talks about zero hunger both of which can only be achieved if food is available for people to eat and make a living.
The sector also speaks to SDG 3 which puts emphasis on good health and wellbeing which is also not possible if there is no proper food for people to eat and sell. SDG 15 expounds on protection, restoration and promotion of sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, to halt and reverse land degradation.
The adverse effects of climate change threaten the sustainability of the sector so key to economic growth. Farmers must up their sleeves and gather enough knowledge on how to be smart in their approaches to ensure that what they do is not only about good production and earning money but it is also about good soil management practices.
These new innovations by the Agriculture Department of Research, are made possible by the Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa, a regional project supported by World Bank under its Africa Action plan. Lesotho is partnering with Angola after joining the project in 2019 and are implementing until 2025. It is aimed at increased availability of improved agricultural technologies in the participating SADC countries. Lesotho is focusing on Improved Horticulture farming systems.
The (2024) UN report on the food security situation in Lesotho, indicate that agriculture in Lesotho employs around 38% of the population and for it to do well, there is need for investments in sustainable farming practices and green technologies. The report goes further to mention that about 700, 000 Basotho nearly one quarter of the population are facing severe food insecurity, a sharp increase from 582,000 last years. This means the new technologies currently being implemented by the department of Agricultural research in trying to equip the farmers must be directed towards reducing this number.
Transforming Agriculture in Lesotho through the Power of Sustainable Soil Management
This video explores efforts by the Department of Agricultural Research, supported by the Agricultural Productivity Program of Southern Africa (APPSA), to build a resilient agricultural sector by focusing on sustainable soil management.
