MASERU
THE Horticulture Association of Lesotho (HAL) this week held a two-day strategic planning workshop at a local hotel.
The workshop, which began Tuesday, is part of efforts to help develop a strategic plan to guide the association as it contributes to the growth and transformation of Lesotho’s horticulture sector.
The Competitiveness and Financial Inclusion Project (CAFI), which helped establish the association under its Lesotho Horticultural Incubation and Training Centre subcomponent, supported the workshop.
The Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Business Development, Thabo Moleko, said he is confident the association will help shape Lesotho’s horticulture sector.
He said associations like HAL are critical for farmers to “amplify their political clout, ensuring that policymakers and the public take their needs and opinions seriously”.
Associations, he added, are the pathway to economic development as they draw on local or regional advantages and harness “collective power to boost the prosperity of their members, families and communities”.
Moleko however said the association needs a comprehensive strategic plan to guide its activities, operations and stakeholder engagement.
CAFI’s project manager, Chaba Mokuku, said the workshop was the next logical step after the association’s formation.
Mokuku said the association’s power to make a “profound change in the horticulture sector depends on its ability to remain organized and focused on the agenda”.
Montsuoe Lethoba, the chairman of HAL, said the workshop opened their eyes to the intricacies of managing an association and keeping it focused on the broader agenda.
“We now have direction as an association. We had so many assumptions that have changed and so many of our questions are answered,” Lethoba said.
“After this workshop, we realize that we have to go back to our constitution to refine our objectives.”
“We have a new way of looking at things because we are now well informed on what needs to be done to strengthen the organization to achieve its objectives.”
Lethoba said immediately after the workshop the HAL’s executive had a brief impromptu meeting to discuss the next steps.
“We agreed that we have a long way to go. We have to engage our membership more and create different chapters focusing on specific areas in horticulture,” Lethoba said.
Nthako Supu the Lesotho Horticultural Incubation and Training Centre Manager, said the ultimate goal is to help build HAL’s capacity to become a strong advocate for the farmers and one of the main drivers of the horticulture sector’s transformation.
“The strategic planning workshop is part of that capacity building. The idea is to create a strong foundation for Lesotho’s horticulture sector to thrive,” Supu said.
The Horticulture Incubation Hub and Training Centre provides support for scaling commercial horticulture farming in Lesotho by building on lessons from the three pilot deciduous fruit farms.
The facility seeks to address gaps in the value chain as well as access to suitable land, infrastructure, extension services, skills, finance and markets while promoting climate-smart agricultural practices.
The facility is based at the former Mahobong Campus of the Institute of Extra Mural Studies (EIMS) in Leribe. CAFI is a US$52.5 million project funded by the World Bank and the Lesotho government. The project is founded on three mutually reinforcing pillars: Enhancing Financial Inclusion and Resilience of MSMEs, Scaling Support for Entrepreneurship and MSMEs, and Project Management Support.
