From rose hip to resilient agrifood systems, Thakane Mahase’s HASTEN journey in Lesotho
©FAO/ Alison Graham
Thakane Mahase, Programme Coordinator of the Pius XII Mentorship Foundation at the National University of Lesotho and Founder of Nutri Rosa, is emerging as one of the country’s young leaders in agrifood systems transformation through the journey under the FAO HASTEN initiative. With a background in animal science, she has combined research, entrepreneurship and community engagement to tackle one of Lesotho’s pressing challenges: the lack of affordable livestock feed.
A homegrown solution
Lesotho’s animal feed sector faces critical challenges, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic when many farmers were forced to cull livestock due to feed shortages. Following a research and development process, Mahase launched Nutri Rosa, as a locally driven solution. Nutri Rosa produces sustainable feed supplements from unconventional local resources such as rose hip (Rosa canina). The product originated from her M.Sc. research at the National University of Lesotho, where it underwent laboratory and on-farm trials demonstrating its potential to enhance livestock performance under local conditions. It aims to reduce local dependency on costly imports but also provide income opportunities for women and youth who are engaged in harvesting and processing.
“We work with marginalized groups within our community, mainly women and youth,” Mahase explained. “There's a lot of unemployment and…there is a lack of skills…We are looking to create jobs for youth and develop their skills, so that they are able to create a sustainable living for themselves”.
Her motivation to participate in the FAO HASTEN programme came from the need to connect with a broader ecosystem of knowledge and support. HASTEN — Harnessing SDG-based Agrifood System Transformation through the Empowerment of the Next Generation of Agrifood Leadership in Africa — operates in Lesotho, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. Funded through FAO’s Flexible Voluntary Contribution, it supports a shift to systems thinking, fosters collaboration between government, business and academia, and supports eco-inclusive agripreneurship. For Mahase, the programme offered a bridge between her scientific background and her entrepreneurial ambitions.
From Ireland to Lesotho
In May 2025, Mahase joined a HASTEN study visit to Ireland, hosted by Sustainable Food Systems Ireland, where she explored how agrifood systems function in one of Europe’s leading agricultural economies. Her main take-aways included:
- Bridging academia and practice – The close collaboration between universities, researchers and farmers showed her how applied research can directly inform farming solutions. Going forward she aims to enhance her collaboration with the University of Lesotho, not as an academic researcher, but as a business, hoping to open up opportunities for growth, while working with young academics looking to get into the field.
- Specialization within value chains – She observed how Irish farmers focus on specific parts of the value chain instead of attempting to “do everything,” an approach she believes could strengthen Lesotho’s largely subsistence-based farming sector.
- Targeted start-up support – Mahase was impressed by Ireland’s model of pairing grants with non-financial assistance such as mentoring, marketing support, and business development services. Having benefited from a government grant in support of youth innovation for the development of her novel feed enterprise, she stressed the importance of financial backing but noted that structured non-financial support is often just as critical for success. The visit provided her with mentorship opportunities for this. She was inspired by discussions with a participating spokesperson from Enterprise Ireland who offered continued guidance beyond the study visit, advising on navigating early growth challenges.
Through the study visit, Mahase also connected with representatives of the World Food Forum. Ongoing dialogue with this global youth platform has inspired and encouraged her to explore the creation of a national youth chapter in Lesotho, which would provide young agrifood leaders like herself with a stronger collective voice, opportunities for peer learning, and direct links to international networks.
Laying the groundwork for expansion
©FAO Lesotho
In September 2025, Mahase participated in the HASTEN Business Incubation workshop in Maseru, which brought together ten youth- and women-led enterprises. Over five days, participants were coached on value proposition, financing strategies, social, environmental and economic impact measurement, and partnership mapping, before presenting their business pitches to an audience of government officials, academics, financial institutions and development partners.
A particularly valuable component was the discussion on scale-up strategies, which introduced a tool to assess different scenarios for enterprise growth and replication. This helped participants to refine long-term strategies, identify opportunities for diversification, and align future expansion plans with potential funding and investment decisions. For Mahase the exercise was especially relevant, offering a framework to plan her company’s ambition to expand beyond cattle feed and tap into emerging markets such as feed supplements for pets as well as export opportunities.
The business incubation programme also raised the profile of youth- and women-led agrifood enterprises nationally. It concluded with an Expression of Intent endorsed by national stakeholders, recognizing eco-inclusive micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises as central to driving agrifood systems transformation.
Looking ahead
©Thakane Mahase
Mahase remains focused on strengthening her enterprise, expanding skills development for women and youth, and fostering stronger research–practice partnerships with the National University of Lesotho. But she has also now a growing role as a youth leader and advocate for systems transformation.
In October, she was co-facilitator of the first of Lesotho’s first United Nations Youth Dialogue, where she guided discussions on the country’s progress on the SDGs and opportunities for advancement, to contribute to its Voluntary National Review
In November, Mahase will bring these experiences to the international stage as a participant in the SDG Forum in Belgium. There, she will share insights from her journey as an agripreneur and youth advocate, reflecting on how initiatives like HASTEN can empower young people to drive transformation within their own countries.
The Impact of HASTEN
For Mahase, the FAO HASTEN initiative has provided a unique combination of international exposure, practical tools, mentorship and national recognition. The programme has strengthened her business model, expanded her networks, and created opportunities to engage directly with decision-makers. It has also encouraged her to link her entrepreneurial work with academic research and youth engagement, ensuring that her efforts contribute to longer-term systems change.
Her journey demonstrates how HASTEN provides a model for advancing agrifood systems transformation by connecting governments, academia, private sector to support systems thinking, strengthen visibility in national and international dialogues and build ecosystems of support that enable youth and women to pursue agripreneurship, in Lesotho and beyond.
