Construction and rehabilitation works supported by the Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA) in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho have reached about eighty percent completion rate, and the structures are set to be delivered before the end of project period in January 2025.
This was noted during a backstopping mission held from the 8th to the 12th of April 2024, facilitated by the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) and included independent reviewers. The backstopping mission is a biennial activity aimed at assessing the performance of APPSA implementing countries as well as provide recommendations to ensure the attainment of the Project Development Objective (PDO).
APPSA is a six-year World Bank funded initiative currently implemented by Lesotho and Angola supporting the establishment of Regional Centers of Leadership on Cassava and Cassava-based farming systems and on Horticulture and Horticulture-based farming systems, respectively. CCARDESA coordinates the regional implementation of this flagship programme.
According to the Principal Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition of Lesotho, Mr Moshe Mosaase, there is no development without research in place as research is mandated to provide the Government with relevant technical advice for informed decision making. Mr Mosaase added that, through the support from APPSA, the Department of Agricultural Research (DAR) is now better positioned to generate and disseminate quality research outputs for the country. The PS's remarks were echoed by the Director of DAR, Dr Lefulese Lebesa who added that APPSA is playing a pivotal role in strengthening the quality of science in Lesotho by also investing in proper R&D infrastructure and capacity building.
APPSA is supporting the rehabilitation and construction of research facilities strategically positioned to cover all agroecological zones across the country in Siloe Regional Station in Mohale’s Hoek district (for Southern Lowlands), Mahobong Regional Station in Leribe (for Northen Lowlands), Mokhotlong Regional Research Station (for Highlands), Nyakosaba Regional Research Station (for Foothills), Machache Satellite Station and Main Research Station (for central Lowlands) in Maseru district.
Infrastructure development in all regional stations which includes fencing, construction of office blocks, store facilities, residencial houses for staff, boreholes, and installation of water tanks, were on average reported to be at 80% completion rate. In the Main Station in Maseru, the construction of a 1.2-kilometer paved access road is at 90% completion rate, while the building of laboratories is at 65%. The conference facility and the main office block construction were reported to be at 80% and 45% completion rate, respectively.
For the performance of APPSA Research and Development (R&D) sub-projects, delegates and independent reviewers visited both on-station and on-farm trails on different crops, including potato foundation seed selection, sweetpotato adaptation, tomato, sorghum, pearl millet, fertilizer application rates, soil monitoring through moisture device in Semonkong (Maseru), Mokhotlong Regional Research Station, Mahobong Regional Research Station, Nkoeng Ha-Makakamela and Ha-Ramapepe (Leribe). Due to the late start of R&D sub-projects from the third cycle, most might go beyond the APPSA implementation period. However, Scientists gave assurance that projects are on track to contribute to the overall results framework by January 2025.
