Family Hotels In Santa Clarita - FAO helps 10 800 people with food aid

Source - http://www.informativenews.co.ls/
By - Majara Molupe
Category - Family Hotels In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Family Hotels In Santa Clarita

MOHALE’SHOEK-Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, local authorities and communities, through extension workers in each 10 districts of Lesotho selected worthy project beneficiaries of the food relief program.

The communication and coordination assistant of FAO in Lesotho Elizabeth Tšehlo said the food aid was a direct response of national food security crisis declared by the Lesotho’s Prime Minister honourable Tom Thabane last year.

“Priority was given to vulnerable families headed by females, orphans, the elderly and those who had chronically ill family members, children under five or pregnant and lactating mothers,” she said.

Beneficiaries at

Tšehlo said statistics show that 725 000 Basotho are considered to be food insecure and this represents a staggering 39% of the total population of the country. 

“As a result”, she warned, “FAO as the agency of the United Nations (UN) scaled up its ongoing rehabilitation activities, with support from the European Commission Humanitarian Office, Belgium and the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund.

From the original 5,000 households, added Tšehlo, FAO is now helping 10,800 vulnerable families, providing seeds and fertilizers, as well as training beneficiaries on the use of sustainable agricultural techniques, such as Conservation Agriculture (CA) and improved Home Gardening and Nutrition”. 

She said the first stage of the nation- wide response program consisted of distributing agricultural inputs, such as maize and bean seeds, fertilizers and vegetable kits pointing out that there are vulnerable farmers in all the districts and the four agro ecological zones of Lesotho. 

In the project, the coordinator said her organization has encouraged the beneficiaries to change their farming methods to CA because it is sustainable, good for the land and enhances yields.

“The three pillars of CA are minimum disturbance of the soil, crop rotations and intercropping permanent soil cover,” she said.

Tšehlo stated that soil erosion is a major problem in Lesotho that affects both quality and quantity of harvests. “By adopting CA, farmers not only ensure better harvests, but also contribute to the improvement of soil quality.”

Although FAO’s programme aims at helping farmers in this emergency situation in the short term, she said it also believes that by disseminating knowledge and practices, farmers will be better placed to enhance their agricultural practices in the long term.

FAO representative in Lesotho Attaher Maiga said it is encouraging to see so many farmers taking CA.

”CA offers us one of the best options to adapt to Climate Change the declining production in the country. The involvement of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has been decisive for the success of this ambitious programme,” said Maiga.

He said this is the first time that CA is promoted widely at national level saying FAO remains committed in supporting Basotho communities and continuing the promotion of CA benefits.

One of the beneficiaries of the program ‘Maletsi Motjamela who is a widow looking after 10 children in the Mohale’shoek district at Mekaling area said the aid came at the right time when her family was struggling to survive.

Most Basotho are hard hit by poverty and hunger and leave below poverty line.