The Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) project entitled “Building capacities and facilitating enabling environment for contract farming in Lesotho” have successfully concluded. The project aims to increase knowledge and build capacities of relevant stakeholders in public and private sectors and facilitate an enabling environment for contract farming for sustainable development of agrifood value chains in Lesotho. 

The project has been jointly implemented by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition (MAFSN) in Lesotho from 2021 to 2023. In particular, the core project team from FAO consists of members from FAO country office in Lesotho (FAOLS), Agrifood Economics and Policy Division (ESA), Development Law Service (LEGN) and FAO Subregional Office for Southern Africa (FAOSFS). 

Major achievements of the project include: 

• A Contract Farming Bill has been developed by a National Contract Farming Working Group and proposed to the government for consideration. The Working Group was established under the project and encompasses representatives from public and private sectors. The Bill is an important step towards creating an enabling regulatory framework for contract farming. 
• Value chain analysis and evaluation of contract farming opportunities have been conducted for dry bean, potato, broiler chicken and port value chains, and recommendations on contract farming and value chain development have been developed and provided.
• A contract farming pilot for dry beans has been designed and facilitated. The project connected farmers with buyers, provided training and facilitated contract development and negotiations. 
• Training and capacity development activities have been provided through over ten virtual, hybrid and in-person workshops and through training for extension and marketing officers (trainers and facilitators) and stakeholder consultations.
• The community-driven and participatory approach has been employed throughout the project. Besides the Working Group, a wide range of stakeholders have been engaged and consulted for analyzing value chains, assessing contract farming opportunities and designing and facilitating the contract farming pilot.  

Technical outputs have been developed for the projects and shared with relevant stakeholders. 

• The Contract Farming Bill in Lesotho.
• A model contract agreement specific for the pilot for dry beans and an adapted model agreement for broader applications in Lesotho and beyond. 
• A technical report on “Piloting contract farming for dry beans in Lesotho.” 
• A technical report on “Value chain analysis and assessment of contract farming opportunities in Lesotho.” It includes pilot design, contract development and negotiation, commentaries for contract terms and recommendations for managing, sustaining and upscaling the pilot and facilitators’ roles. 
• Presentations prepared for training and validation workshops including presentations for the above four technical outputs. 

Some of these technical outputs are being revised and prepared for publications to provide guidance and examples for broader audience and applications beyond specific value chain and/or Lesotho. Stay tuned with our news update on the publication release. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].