This paper examines the design and implementation of a package of capacity strengthening interventions undertaken between March 2007 and March 2011, which aimed to enhance the performance of the national agricultural research system (NARS) in Lesotho. It also identifies some initial outcomes from these interventions and makes recommendations to sustain the process of organisational and institutional change and build on the results that have been achieved.

The Sourcebook is the outcome of joint planning, continued interest in gender and agriculture, and concerted efforts by the World Bank, FAO, and IFAD. The purpose of the Sourcebook is to act as a guide for practitioners and technical staff inaddressing gender issues and integrating gender-responsive actions in the design and implementation of agricultural projects and programs. It speaks not with gender specialists on how to improve their skills but rather reaches out to technical experts to guide them in thinking through how to integrate gender dimensions into their operations.

Grants for agricultural innovation are common but grant funds specifically targeted to smallholder farmers remain relatively rare. Nevertheless, they are receiving increasing recognition as a promising venue for agricultural innovation. They stimulate smallholders to experiment with improved practices, to become proactive and to engage with research and extension providers. The systematic review covered three modalities of disbursing these grants to smallholder farmers and their organisations: vouchers, competitive grants and farmer-led innovation support funds.

The citizens of Lesotho rely on a complex web of livelihood strategies made primarily of family kinships and strong community networks. Recently, community breakdowns have occurred because of extensive land degradation, soil erosion, widespread poverty, and HIV/AIDs. This thesis focuses on two aspects which are likely to help decrease the problems earlier stated.

Lesotho is one of the poorest countries in Southern Africa, and has one of the highest income inequality in the world. Home to about 2 million people, Lesotho is surrounded by South Africa, the second largest and most industrialized economy in Africa. Lesotho generates income mainly by exporting textiles, water, and diamonds, and is a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Common Monetary Area (CMA). The national currency, the loti, is pegged to the South African rand.

Lesotho's agricultural system faces a growing number of climate-related vulnerabilities with droughts, floods, pests, and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. In response, the Government of Lesotho is collaborating with the World Bank to integrate climate change into the country’s agriculture policy agenda through the Lesotho Climate-Smart Agriculture Investment Plan (CSAIP). 

Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), or FAW, is an insect native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. In the absence of natural controls or good management, it can cause significant damage to crops. It prefers maize, although it can feed on more than 80 additional species of crops including rice, sorghum, millet, sugarcane, vegetable crops and cotton.

This report describes the findings of the country study carried out for the design of IFAD project on Restoration of Landscapes and Livelihoods (ROLL P) in Lesotho. Following an IFAD designed project to develop an integrated approach for designing climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive investments, support was provided to undertake a thorough situation analysis for climate, nutrition and their interlinkages and to identify potential pathways and interventions to achieve both climate action and nutrition outcomes.

TAP and its partners carried out regional surveys in Asia, Africa and Central America to assess priorities, capacities and needs in national agricultural innovation systems. This document provides a Regional synthesis report on capacity needs assessment for agricultural innovation in Africa.  FARA was selected as Recipient Organization by FAO to facilitate TAP implementation in Africa. This is mainly due to its position as the umbrella organization bringing together and forming coalitions of major regional stakeholders in agricultural research and development.  

The objectives of this study are to: (1) assess the demand for vegetables from formal buyers in Lesotho; (2) examine the current production and marketing strategies of commercial vegetable farmers; and (3) suggest the design of the pilot supplier development program (SDP) to improve formal market access for smallholder farmers. The focus of this study is on Maseru, as it is the main center of demand in the country. The rest of this paper is organized as follows. Part 1 describes the demand for fresh produce and sourcing strategies of buyers in Maseru.