Maseru, March 05 – – – Although agricultural production has increased in recent years, access to markets remains a challenge for farmers.
This was said by the Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, Mr. Thabo Mofosi before the Portfolio Committee on the Economic and Development Cluster during ongoing Ministerial consultations on the annual budget 2026/2027.
He indicated that although production increased in the 2025/2026 financial year, the government through the Disaster Management Authority did not manage to buy all grains from farmers.
He added that although they produced in high quantities, some of the produce was also not competitive for market.
He therefore emphasised the need for continuous training to capacitate farmers, revealing that the Ministry embarked on a regional exercise in 2025/26 financial year to capacitate farming inputs producers.
He further revealed that the Ministry had intended to hand over the sale of farming inputs to an Agent who would sell them to farmers to promote accessibility.
Meanwhile, the Ministry also revealed that its revenue collection on importation was affected by the new system for permits issuance as well as ban of importation of livestock and unprocessed meat from South Africa due to Foot and Mouth Disease.
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