Food crisis threatens families in Lesotho
November 16, 2012 -- Lesotho is facing a serious food crisis. Due to a series of floods, late rains, and early frost, more than 725,000 people – one-third of the population – will be short of food. Agricultural production has dropped 70%, resulting in Lesotho’s worst harvest in ten years.
“Crop production has declined during six of the last seven years,” said Michelle Carter, Country Director for CARE Lesotho. “People’s reserves and safety nets have been exhausted, and with another poor harvest the situation has become an emergency.”
A majority of Lesotho farmers are subsistence farmers who rely on agriculture as their main source of food. This year, however, domestic production will meet only 10% of Lesotho’s cereal needs. The country is therefore dependent on imported food, but many are unable to afford it. Among poor households incomes have fallen over 30% in the last year because the poor harvest has meant little demand for hired labour on the larger farms. During this same period commodity prices have been rising, further weakening the purchasing power of poor households.
Chronic malnutrition is already extremely high in Lesotho. More than one in three children under five are stunted (short for their age) and the current food insecurity has the potential to increase malnutrition still further, especially among young children, and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Almost a quarter of people in Lesotho are HIV positive or living with AIDS, which, when coupled with food shortages – and the shortage of adequately nutritious food – results in a decline in affected people’s health and well-being, including their ability to engage in productive activities which will bring additional food into households. The combination of low household food production and high food costs forces people living with AIDS to make choices between feeding themselves and their families and continuing with life-saving medications.
Emergencies like this one often push households towards dangerous coping mechanisms, and because of the lack of power they often hold within the household, these coping strategies often place women and children particularly at risk. In Lesotho these coping mechanisms may include withdrawing young boys from school to work in distant communities, trafficking girls and women to South Africa to work as labourers or sex workers, and increased pressure on women and girls to engage in sex work or transactional sex within Lesotho, further exacerbating the risk of HIV transmission.
CARE has been working in Lesotho since 1968 and is therefore well placed to respond quickly to this emergency. This response has already begun - CARE has recently completed the distribution of seeds to vulnerable households so that they are able to plant in this year’s agricultural season. This is vital as unless farmers have the support they need to plant next year’s harvest, the emergency is likely to deepen and affect an even larger population.
Working with our partners, CARE plans to reach over 4,000 households with a combination of cash vouchers and cash-for-work programmes to allow people to buy food in the market. CARE will begin a small scale cash voucher intervention in the coming weeks, targeting the most vulnerable households – those that are child-headed, have high numbers of children under 5 and/or pregnant and lactating women, and/or are caring for people living with AIDS. CARE will also work with women and girls, and communities more broadly, to ensure that adequate protection mechanisms are created to prevent sexual exploitation and gender based violence, which are common consequences of food emergencies.
In addition to meeting immediate food needs, CARE’s response will focus on providing nutritional education, working to combat gender-based violence and HIV transmission, and on rebuilding community safety nets through programs such as Village Savings and Loans Associations.
About CARE: Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE has more than six decades of experience helping people prepare for disasters, providing lifesaving assistance when a crisis hits, and helping communities recover after the emergency has passed. CARE places special focus on women and children, who are often disproportionately affected by disasters. CARE has worked in Lesotho since 1968.