New PM speaks on climate change

MATHATISI SEBUSI

MASERU – Prime Minister Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane says it is critical that the country invests in climate change resilience to address risks climate change inflicts on the country’s economic growth efforts.Delivering his speech during his inauguration ceremony, Matekane articulated that Lesotho is highly exposed to climate change hazards, including droughts, floods, storms, strong winds, heavy snowfall and severe snow.

He said floods from extreme rainfall in the country that occur frequently impact the population, economic activity and the environment, further stating that the extreme weather conditions pose extensive risk to water infrastructure and service delivery.“Climate change will further stress our water reserves, which as you know, is one of Lesotho’s most valuable resources contributing no less than eight to 10 percent to our GDP,” he noted.

He said the impact of climate change is the country is bound to disrupt farming systems, decrease agricultural productivity and raise the level of food insecurity for thousands of Basotho who rely on subsistence farming for survival.Matekane said the quality of water generated in Lesotho’s wetlands will decline over time, ultimately impacting the volume of water Lesotho has for domestic consumption and for export further articulating that land degradation, soil erosion and bad land management practices worsens the situation.

These have been confirmed by communities that did not only lose infrastructure but also lost their agricultural land due to land degradation and soil erosion.The Ha Ramatšeliso community, in the district of Thaba-Tseka, is among communities that are slowly giving up on farming owing to lack of access to seeds that withstand all weather conditions.

The community that solely depends on farming says for the past five consecutive years they have not had any good harvest because of severe rainfalls that swept away their fields and degraded their land.Those who still have land to plant say they are unable to produce food because their crops either get swept away by heavy rains or get rotten due to excessive water.Makhotla Mpopo who is the village’s agricultural supervisor told Public Eye that the community mostly grow beans, sorghum and maize but this year and the past years there had not been any harvest.

Mpopo stated that he is aware and have been capacitated together with the community on climate smart agriculture, further articulating that the challenge is accessing relevant seeds that are able to withstand all weather conditions.He said for the past five years, he has been approaching ministry of agriculture asking that the seeds be brought closer to them to no futile.He said all the time he contacted ministry of agriculture in Thaba-Tseka, he was told that he could only get the seeds they need from Maseru.

He stated that they now are forced to plant any seed that comes their way even though they are already certain that they will not make any good harvest.Mpopo further articulated that the community has opted for planting vegetables including potatoes and green leaves plants which he said only sustain them for a month or so, adding that they still need to plant grains that can sustain them for the whole year the least.“Farming is the only thing that we know. We have no other means for survival. Our hope in farming is diminishing day by day but we can’t give up. If only we could be assisted with relevant seeds, we will be able to apply this climate smart agriculture,” he noted.

He said the government has abandoned the rural communities and does not even ensure that it helps them with seeds that they are ready to buy with their own money.“We are not even asking for hand-outs or free seeds; we want the seeds to be brought closer to us so that we can buy with our own money. Because of struggling to access seeds, the community that has so much love for farming is slowly losing interest in farming which is their only way of survival,” he said.

On the other hand, Mokhotlong farmers plead with the government for establishment of a fund by that will work towards compensating farmers that lose their produce due to extreme climate change impacts.Majakisane Tšita, a Mokhotlong farmer noted that due to extreme weather conditions that the country is experiencing farmers are losing most of their crops and livestock.He said heavy rainfalls have destroyed their grazing lands, wetlands and the land has degraded. Tšita articulated that these have pushed farmers out of business because apart from their livestock that dies from hunger and extreme weather conditions, they lost crops and their soil have been swept away by heavy rains.

“Our graze lands are being destroyed by water and the land is turning into dongas, as a result our livestock is dying and we have nowhere to plant any food. Farming is our only means of survival and without the products we are doomed, we need assistance from the government.We have seen other countries compensate their farmers who lost produce due to climate change impact. It is only here in Lesotho that the government is not assisting us in any way,” he said.According to Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) country briefs on Lesotho dated July 25, 2022, cereal production in 2022 is estimated to be below average.

The country brief notes that following completion of harvesting of the 2022 main-season summer cereal crops, mostly maize and sorghum, production of maize is about one‑third of the average, while the sorghum output is almost insignificant.The brief stipulates that the poor harvest was primarily due to extreme rainfalls during January and February, which caused localized flooding and resulted in crop losses.

“The heavy rains were most prominent in the main cereal‑producing northwestern areas, with a significant negative impact on yields of the main season summer crops, mostly due to waterlogging that resulted in extensive weed infestations,” reads the country brief.It further noted that output of 6 000 tonnes of wheat will be harvested in November in northern regions further stating that total cereal production in 2022 is forecast at 35 000 tonnes, well below the previous five‑year average.