New minister pledges to engage farmers
MASERU — New Agriculture Minister Litšoane Lits’oane has pledged to engage farmers to improve Lesotho’s food security.
Litšoane was addressing civil servants in his ministry at Ha-Foso on Monday when he was introduced to them as their new minister.
Litšoane, a top farmer who received praises from former prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili for his sterling management of the block farming scheme, told the civil servants it was important to engage farmers to come up with strategies to fight hunger.
The block farming scheme was a credit guarantee bankrolled by the government of Lesotho.
The government had pledged to pay back the loans taken by farmers in case their harvests failed.
Many farmers including government ministers failed to pay back the loans and the state was forced to pay.
Litsoane was not among those who failed to make enough harvests to pay back loans for farmers who fell under his leadership.
He said his experience as a farmer had taught him that clear communication and information-sharing between farmers and the ministry’s employees is important to manage food production and security.
“I am a farmer and I know how it feels when farmers and servants in the Ministry of Agriculture do not engage each other. I have experienced it in the past,” Litsoane said.
“Work with these farmers, engage them and share information with them for the betterment of agriculture, the proper farming and food security,” he said.
Speaking at the same occasion, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Mahala Molapo said the ministry’s workers should encourage farmers to adopt policies and help them manage their farms in a way that will benefit the entire country.
“We supported policies in the past government because we wanted this country to be self-sufficient and we are expecting you to lead farmers to support policies in this government for the same purpose of food production and security,” Molapo said.
The mission of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is to provide positive management of participatory expansion and execution of programs to farmers.
Comment by Sandile on 28 June 2012:
In as much as this minister is a politician and can be deployed in any ministry, he should not undermine farming and think that as a successful farmer he can transform our agricultural production. Agricultural production is highly scientific and he needs to soround himself with scientists for strategic guindance of agricultural sector. Farming does not start at the field, he needs to seriuosly upgrade agric college, research and hire qualified people.
Comment by tman on 28 June 2012:
Joale ba entse Litshoane sekheho setloba teng thlahisong hobane haa satla ea masimong, hakere joale ba bukhetsoe hotele!! Ichu!!!!!!!Fela haa mobeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by tman on 28 June 2012:
****”correction Pliz” Baentse Litsoane letona
Comment by Ngoana Motho on 28 June 2012:
tman, ebe uena o motle hakalo-kalo hoo u bonang bobe ba batho ba bang. Litshaone ha a tlo sebelisa bobe kapa botle ba hae ho etsa hore Lesotho le ikemele tabeng ea temo ele ho fenya tlala, empa o tlo sebelisa tsebo ea hae kopanelong le ba bang ka litsebo tse fapaneng. Rea u lebohisa tman ea MOTLE.
Comment by tlali on 28 June 2012:
Che Tman u sele haholo…. ha re hloke batho ba kang wena forum mona moo re bua litaba tsa sechaba.
Comment by Lekaota on 28 June 2012:
Re kopa Letona le ke le ilo bona mohlolo Mafeteng moo Machaena aa ruileng likhoho tsa mahe ka bobolu.
Basotho baa ka boroa ho naha ba oele ke bobolu bono boo entsoeng ka mono.
Comment by tman on 28 June 2012:
@Ngoana motho
U tlameha u le mobe bona babo Lits’oane, ha ke utloe na hobaneng o utloa bohloko ha Lits’oane a le mobe kapa u bopiloe ke oena!!!
Comment by oa leribe on 28 June 2012:
Ntate Lits’oane o tla koebela,’me re mo ts’epile
hobane o nale boiphihlelo. Ha re mots’eheteseng hle Basotho
ba heso. ‘Muso le ona ohle o lokolle likhakanyo ka nako, mohoma
temeng hle maapara kobo a matle.
Comment by motho on 28 June 2012:
Ha feela masimo a tla lula a ntse a letse, Lits’oane o tla ba sa fapana le ba bang ba fetileng. Le DC la heso Ntate ‘Mokose o ile a mphoqa hampe. Ntlha ea pele ke hore ho lengoe!
Ke lumellana le Sandile homenahane hore ho hlokahala litsibi. Li teng kea tseba. Joale he litsibi tseo li re thuse hore na re jale eng neng kaha pula e se e lieha ho na hlabula.
Ho se ke hoa shejoa batho ba lemelang ho rekisa feela empa ho hopoloe le ba lemelang lephako.
‘Nete ke thebe!
Comment by Mosotho on 28 June 2012:
Uena tman u tlameha u ntse u le ngoana a ntseng a nkha lebese ka linkong. mona ha ho bapalloe ke bana re bua taba tsa bohlokoa. soaba u etse taba tsa bana u ilo khanna likoloi tsa literata kapa u bapale mantloane u tlohele taba tsa batho ba baholo. re bua ka ho fenya bofuma uena u bua ka bobe, sis
Comment by Lelingoana on 28 June 2012:
Sandile,
How well do you know Nt Lits’oane? He is not just a farmer, he is very well qualified with a masters in agric. So, careful before you comment.
Comment by Ngoajane on 28 June 2012:
Ntate Mokose is excelling in Agriculture ,look at his products such as Sekeiti malunga how he is shaking the world with Agricultural developments .
the new minister must learn from ntate mokose.
Comment by Piet Pitso on 29 June 2012:
Hela mo-k hard work pays half. You’ve come a long way to be the minister of agric. you’ve lived agricalture all your life,i don’t remember you doing anything else.
Comment by OA BEREA on 2 July 2012:
tman,
silly boy, sis