This document describes the main results that emerged from the application of the Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE) developed by FAO on the IFAD-funded Regeneration of Landscapes and Livelihoods (ROLL) project in Lesotho. TAPE provided a baseline for analyzing and comparing the performance of different types of agricultural systems across multiple dimensions of sustainability....

As agroecology has increasingly been brought into the international dialogue on the future of food and agriculture, there have been calls for building the evidence base of its performance across the multiple dimensions of sustainability and its capacity to achieve multiple SDGs. In response to this need, FAO coordinated the...

In Africa, agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) accounts for more than 20 percent of the total GDP. The farmers’ income is mainly from the farming industry, and it accounts for more than 80 percent of total household income. However, despite Africa’s plentiful agricultural resources, the continent still faces serious food...

According to a new study, rising temperatures and decreased rainfall in eight Southern and East African countries are likely to reduce the production of vital food crops in the region by 2050. The International Fund for Agricultural Development has issued the scientists' report, which covers Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda,...

The impact of COVID 19 on food security in Africa has been among the most widely discussed subjects since the first cases of COVID-19 in Africa broke in February 2020. Most of the narratives were alarming. The headlines put Africa at the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis caused by...

We cannot talk about food sovereignty without mentioning the role of mass markets on which the majority of people depend on their income and food. These markets have demonstrated their relevance during the COVID-19 era by strengthening rural-urban linkages. Mass markets have been the main avenue through which rural people...

This paper has the double aim to study whether unconditional cash transfers have an impact on farm production and to look into the causal mechanisms through which government transfers produce productive impacts. We use mediation analysis to identify the total effect of transfers on farm production and to isolate the...

This report synthesizes the analysis and findings of a set of seven country impact evaluation studies that explore the impact of cash transfer programmes on household economic decision-making, productive activities and labour allocation in sub-Saharan Africa. The seven countries are Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Results from...

Social protection is increasingly recognized as a critical strategy for poverty reduction and inclusive growth. Both, the 2030 Agenda, as well as Agenda for Humanity, stress the critical role social protection can play in the fight against poverty and exclusion, but also as a component of resilience building. However, more...

Cash transfer programmes in sub-Saharan Africa impact the productive activities of both beneficiary and non-beneficiary households in the communities where they are implemented. These programmes have led to an increase in agricultural activities in beneficiary households, including greater use of agricultural inputs, more land area in crop production and higher...

This is the policy brief drawn from a longer review that analyses and summarizes impact evaluation findings that focus on the interaction between agricultural interventions (including rural extension services, rural development, natural resource management, access to markets, subsidized credit, investment grants, access to improved seeds and fertilizer subsidies), and social...

The report examines the impacts of an unconditional cash transfer in Lesotho, the Child Grants Programme, aimed at enhancing children’s nutrition and schooling. Using an experimental impact evaluation design, the analysis looks specifically at gender-differentiated impacts in children’s school participation and time use among agricultural households two years after the...

El Niño conditions have caused the lowest recorded rainfall between October and December across many regions of Southern Africa in at least 35 years. Short-term forecasts from January to March indicate the high probability of continuing below-normal rainfall in the south, signaling that this could become one of the worst...

The SADC Consultative Meeting on Preparedness and Response to the Impact of the 2015/16 El Niño on Agriculture and Food and Nutrition Security in Southern Africa was held from 25th to 26th February 2016 in Johannesburg, South Africa, with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations...

This article presents findings on the local economy impacts of seven African country SCT programmes evaluated as part of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) “From Protection to Production” (PtoP) project. The countries are Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The PtoP project has facilitated expansion of...

This flyer explain the new National Land Cover database supported by FAO in Lesotho and funded from the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) and the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC). The land cover database covering the entire territory of Lesotho is developed through multi-spectral image fusion (or pan sharpening) technique...

Climate change programming and natural resource management are of crucial importance for increasing the productivity and general well-being of the broader agriculture sector in Lesotho. FAO has been developing a number of complementary projects with a focus on the environment, natural resource management and climate change adaptation. One of these...

The brief aims at summarizing the efforts of FAO to maximize the impacts of social protection interventions in the Sahel and West Africa by strengthening the linkages with resilience, food security, nutrition and economic growth; ensuring the effective reach of most vulnerable households and making national social protection programmes risk-informed...

With regard to genderdifferentiated impacts on child-specific outcomes, in Lesotho the programme had a strong positive impact on school enrolment and time spent in school (mainly driven by girls) and on a reduction of farm work (mainly driven by boys) for children aged 13–17. These gendered outcomes were also influenced...

Building an enterprise takes many different tasks, from stepping into the shoes of potential customers to designing products or services, to running a marketing campaign. This was one of the key messages for women farmers at SACAU’s Agro-preneurship training in Johannesburg this month. The three-day training from 27th – 29th September...