Agric show boasts women in agriculture
LINEO MALATALIANA
MASERU – The Smallholder Agricultural Development Project II (SADP II) in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and World Vision hosted an agricultural showcase in Mapoteng last week.
The event kicked off with a march led by nutrition club members advocating for the Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE) project and youth empowerment in agriculture in the communities of Mapoteng.
World Vision Grant Resource and acquisitions Tšeliso Ncheke said GEWE is an initiative aimed at the improving and empowering women and youth engagement in agricultural decision-making.
“This initiative is implemented by World Vision as a part of SADP II. The main purpose of the GEWE is to encourage the engagement of women in decision making in agriculture,” Ncheke said.
Through the initiative the World Vision anticipates a point where women participate in agricultural activity on a large scale with key role impact in crucial decisions processes.
Lesotho government Lesotho supports SADP II with financial assistance from the World Bank, Japan and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
The ministry of Agriculture and Food Security assists and supervises the establishment of and maintenance of nutrition clubs.
One of the supervisors, Nutrition ATO – Mapoteng Centre Ntefeleng Tšolo said their journey has been a long and turbulent one but at the end they have come out triumphant.
“When a woman is empowered, she has clarity of the mind and body because she is well fed and filled with love. This becomes evident in the level of patience and respect she has for others,” Tšolo said.
Tšolo’s journey with Mapoteng nutrition clubs started in 2023. She said it was not easy in the beginning to teach depressed women about good nutrition.
The supervisor had to start counseling the women to realize that only when they are mentally empowered could they ‘see good in all things’.
This, Tšolo said, attracted men to join the nutrition clubs as well.
“The participation of men in the nutrition clubs has fostered a spirit of equality which promotes women empowerment,” Tšolo said.
She indicated that the growth and trainings of the nutrition clubs should be credited to the support from the ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
The work they have done attracted the likes of World Vision and SADP II to offer more training and funding to empower these nutrition clubs to be self-sustained.
Speaking on behalf of SADP II, ‘Mabafokeng Maope said that they anticipate achievement of 50 percent goals at the end of the project.
“The project is working in all 10 districts and is mainly focused on issues pertaining to good nutrition,” Maope said.
Maope said that the concept of women empowerment was fairly new to them; hence the World Vision carried out the implementation. She also emphasized that for clubs to be eligible for funding from the project they must be registered and be active in good nutrition initiatives.
The day’s festivities were decorated with a mini show and products from various nutrition clubs in the area such as cosmetics, crafts, traditional motoho beverage and fresh chilies among others.
On behalf of the nutrition clubs, Retšelisitsoe Likotsi from Everlasting Nutrition Club said the initiative has been a blessing for them.
“Through the trainings that we got from the ministry we have been equipped with skills that enable us to acquire financial sustainability for ourselves and those around us,” Likotsi said.
She called for the broad participation encouraging others to take part in clubs especially those featuring women and the youth.
