21 October 2024 by Pascalinah Kabi

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In Quthing, shade nets laid scattered across the fields, torn and tangled by the heavy snowfall. These nets, crumpled on the ground, left crops fully exposed to the biting cold.

Without the shelter they provided, the vegetables were vulnerable to frost damage, threatening the livelihood of 54-year-old Manthabiseng Koro. Koro, a farmer from Quthing district in Lesotho, depends on shade nets to shield her produce from extreme weather.

“The biggest challenge we faced was the snowfall that destroyed our shade nets. It’s a complete mess,” Koro told Uncensored News on October 3, 2024.

In September 2024, Lesotho experienced snowfall that wreaked havoc on the lives of farmers like Koro and Nako Rangoajane. Koro’s shade nets, which covered half a hectare of land, were destroyed, leaving her crops vulnerable.

Meanwhile, Rangoajane lost 72 sheep, which died from overcrowding in a small shelter as they sought refuge from the stormy weather that led to the snowfall.

“At around 2 p.m. on September 16, 2024, the sheep came running home to escape the storm and crowded into a shelter that was too small to hold them all. They died from overcrowding,” Rangoajane told Uncensored News on September 23, 2024.

As extreme weather events like unseasonal snowfalls and heatwaves become more frequent and severe, Koro said she and other farmers are increasingly vulnerable to unpredictable climate patterns.

Koro noted that weather patterns have changed significantly since she transitioned into smallholder farming in 2008, when her husband invested capital into her business.

“I used the money my husband invested in my business to buy land and farming supplies, including seeds. Since then, I’ve become a successful farmer, but my biggest challenge is the pests we are constantly battling,” Koro said.

The challenges faced by Koro and other farmers across the African continent are a stark reminder of how climate change continues to disrupt traditional agricultural practices, leaving communities scrambling to adapt.

“I have chosen to plow in an open space while I work on rebuilding my structures. I don’t have funding for this, but I am trying to save money each month, putting aside M500 so I can eventually buy new shade nets,” Koro said.

Empowering farmers

Sixteen years after Koro ventured into smallholding business, she has established markets in her home district, with entities like Quthing Government Hospital purchasing fresh produce from her.

“I am a vegetable producer, growing items such as peppers, chilies, spinach, lettuce, and red cabbage. I supply several businesses, including caterers,” Koro said.

“Right now, I have a very good crop of spinach and am supplying Quthing Hospital with vegetables. My red cabbage will be ready for the market soon.”

Koro is a member of the Quthing Farmers Forum, a group of farmers organised under the Rural Self-Help Development Association (RSDA), a non-governmental organisation that supports sustainable agriculture and empowers rural communities.

Through training from RSDA, Koro and her fellow farmers have gained new skills to confront challenges effectively.

“They have also taught us how to access markets as businesses, rather than just as farmers,” Koro told Uncensored News.

On October 3, 2024, the RSDA celebrated 200 years since the founding father of Lesotho travelled from Mekhoaneng to Thaba-Bosiu, as well as the country’s 58th Independence Day, in Thaba-Bosiu, Maseru.

RSDA Director ‘Mampho Thulo emphasised that Basotho should take pride in the country’s agricultural heritage as they celebrate 200 years of nationhood and 58 years of independence from Britain.

“What we should be celebrating is that in 200 years, whatever small our Lesotho is, all the land and all the soil still belong to the Lesotho people. That is what Moshoeshoe left for us.  

“And we might not be aware that in Lesotho, you cannot sell land. We have only leasehold, unlike in South Africa where it is freehold. Our soil is on the custody of our King as a trustee,” Thulo said at the October 3^rd RSDA celebrations in Thaba-Bosiu.

Koro was among the local farmers attending the Thaba-Bosiu celebrations, which were graced by the presence of RSDA’s main funder, the Denmark Network of Lesotho (DNL).

Karina Ruby, president of the Denmark Network of Lesotho, stated that D.N.L has partnered with RSDA for 20 years to support smallholder farmers across Lesotho.

“The collaboration has taken place through a well-established partnership between RSDA and DNL, a very well-functioning partnership,” Ruby said.

Funding challenges

Fully aware of the devastating impacts of climate change on smallholder farmers, Ruby said DNL was planning to collaborate with RSDA on climate change mitigation programmes.

“The next challenge we would like to collaborate on is climate change and the consequences that the climate change has for farmers in Lesotho,” Ruby said.

She added: “We hope to be granted money for another project, although it looks more difficult than ever in relation to the lack of money from our donor. So, we will see.”

As the world prepares to gather in Baku, Azerbaijan from November 11-22, 2024, for the Conference of Parties (COP) 29, the United Nations (UN) has acknowledged the difficulty of raising funds to address climate change-induced challenges in Africa.

Reena Ghelani, the UN Assistant Secretary-General and Climate Crisis Coordinator for El Niño and La Niña, admitted during her visit to Lesotho that the UN is struggling to raise sufficient funding.

“Yes, it is difficult to raise money. Globally, we’ve only reached about 29 percent, 30 percent, a third or less of what is actually needed globally on emergency funds,” Ghelani told the media in Lesotho on September 3, 2024.

“And there we would like development donors to come in, because if we act now, this is a climate crisis, this is not the fault of the country (Lesotho), this is a country that has the least to do with the impact of the climate changing and yet, some of the biggest impacts are today felt here,” Ghelani said.

She warned that if the world fails to act now to secure funding for climate change mitigation programs, it will soon face even bigger challenges.

“And so it is upon us all to support so that we can get into this resilience phase and emergency funding is not needed, which is far more costly. But there is a moral imperative for development partners now to give.”

Resilience efforts

Despite the impacts of climate change, including funding challenges, facing farmers across Lesotho, 54-year-old Manthabiseng Koro and 49-year-old Nako Rangoajane remain determined to pursue successful businesses.

Rangoajane estimated a loss of M108,000 when 72 of his sheep died on September 16, 2024.

“For Basotho men who aren’t in formal employment, we rely on livestock to make a living. Just days before the sheep died, I sold ten sheep and earned good money for my family. Some people even suggested I should have sold all of them,” Rangoajane said.

He quickly added, “I am determined to recover from this. The small flock I have left will grow, and I aim to recover my losses within two years.”

When asked about mitigating climate change impacts, Rangoajane acknowledged the countrywide effects and shared that over 30 of his goats died during the winter of 2024.

 “We need to build proper shelters for our livestock and ensure they aren’t overcrowded. Experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Disaster Management Authority emphasised the importance of animal shelters to protect against harsh, unexpected weather like snow in summer.”

“I plan to build two additional shelters, large enough to accommodate all my animals, including my cows,” he concluded.

On her part, Koro emphasised the need for farmers to prepare by building proper protective structures on their farms to safeguard against the harsh impacts of climate change.

“We must be ready, so we don’t face hunger when climate change hits us hard,” she said.

She is working hard to secure enough funding to rebuild protective structures for her vegetables.

When asked about mitigating climate change impacts beyond shade nets, Koro highlighted the advantages of Lesotho’s relatively pristine environment. She encouraged small farmers to stay strong and work hard because, as she put it, “there is no life without farming.”

To address the high cost of pesticides, Koro and her fellow farmers have adopted a collaborative approach, buying in bulk to ensure that all nearby farms are covered.

“If one farmer sprays pesticides but their neighbours don’t, it’s pointless because the pests will return. So, we contribute and buy one large container of pesticide and spray all the farms as a team on the same day,” she said.

Farmers also collaborate when purchasing seedlings, and they have now agreed to buy shade nets together after the snowfall destroyed many.

“Working together has eased a huge burden on me,” Koro said. “Not only does it lower prices, but it also reduces costs for transportation, labor, and time.”

Reena Ghelani, the UN Assistant Secretary-General and Climate Crisis Coordinator for El Niño and La Niña, emphasised that resilience is key to mitigating the impacts of climate change.

“We need to move very quickly from this emergency phase into the resilience and the government (Lesotho) has been very clear about that,” Ghelani said.

She added that during discussions with Deputy Prime Minister Justice Nthomeng Majara and other ministers on September 3, 2024, the Lesotho government made it clear that the country does not rely on handouts.

“It’s a country that wants to feed itself and have the future for their families themselves. Now, there are things that can be done, and the government outlaid a number of initiatives that they believe that if we all come behind and support, will have a major impact.

“And some of those are in the agricultural sphere, for example, linking climate smart agriculture to markets and becoming food self-sufficient instead of importing. And in fact, in the longer term, maybe even exporting some of those things. 

“There are a number of things around health and nutrition that need to be done that are not emergency interventions, but making sure people are able to survive long diseases that come from malnutrition,” Ghelani said.

UN Lesotho Resident Coordinator, Amanda Khozi Mukwashi, highlighted that the UN is partnering with the government of Lesotho to implement joint programs.

“These joint programs mean that it’s not just one UN agency. It is at least four or five UN agencies coming together with government, different ministries, and saying what can we do together to make sure that we optimise the resources that we have. So we’ve developed one on food production.

“We’ve got another joint program on nutrition. I think we have got another one on natural resources. We are still looking for funding for these joint programmes, but these are long term. They sit in that sort of 20 percent and the 40 percent on resilience,” Mukwashi said.

She emphasised that implementing these programs swiftly would benefit communities, as the impacts of rains, droughts, and other climate challenges are unavoidable.

“What we can stop is to have communities that are resilient, that are better prepared, and that can bounce back even better when situations are very difficult,” Mukwashi said.

She also praised Lesotho’s communities for taking ownership of local projects, such as rehabilitating the galleys in Mafeteng.

“You can see they are doing it for themselves, the women, the men, young people. They are out there; they are not waiting to be helped. They are doing it for themselves. They are coming together and planting, having gardens,” she said.