aistand south~ern afrkca - (PDF, 101 mb) - USAID

qualified staff at LIC& haa been a cause of
concern for some time now. Out of the 47 LICs
only seven are manned by qualified livestock
assistants (LAs).
The shortage of staff has been caused, in part,
by a perceived lackofopportunities for personnel
career advancement in the department. This is
evidenced by the fact that a few LAs sought and
obtained transfers to other departments of the
ministry. There has also been an alarming staff
turnover throughout the years. The staff
shortagesituatior has probably been aggravated
by the adoption of the International Monetary
Fund-sponsored structural adjustment programmes.
Success has been achieved in t he organisation
of farmers into associations of wool and mohair
growers tf-rough education and persuasion.
Nowvr, the marketing associations are riddl2d
with problems that undermine their very
existence. To illustrate the point: there were
10,484 members of WGA in 1985/86 and 4060
mohair grower association members during the
same period (Hunter, 1987). However, data
obtained for the 1990/91 wool season suggest
thatthemembershipofWGAhaddeclinedtoless
than half (4932) and that of mohair growers had
increased slightly (4854). The cause for this
apparent disintegration of the associations can
arguably be traced back to the shortage of
advisory staff at the grassroots level. When
farmers do not obtain adequate advice then the
chances for disillusionment and break up of the
groups are high. There exists an urgent need to
fill this gap, as it is more cost effective to work
with organised groups than with individuals.
Success has been achieved in convincing some
farmers to improve their flocks through breeding
with improved rams. However, the character of
land tenure in Lesotho has not helped those
farmers solve their management problems,
Progressive farmers have defined a breeding
season and they actually plan for it but there are
many instances ofewes being impregnated in the
communal range. This has greatly slowed, if not
completely impeded, efforts to improve stock,
Disease control problems, especially aheep
scab can also be blamed on the chaacter of the
land tenire system. Those flocks that have been
dipped graze together with undipped flocks,
rendering the dipping ineffective. The problem is
not confined to sheep scab only, it also includes
internal parasites. A few farmers have taken the
advice of dosing their animals regularly for
internal parasites, but this exercise is futile
given that the animals graze on the same range
as undosed flocks. This probably explains why
only 18% of the sheep and goat owners dosed
their animals according to departmental
recommendations in 1984/85 (Hunter, 1987).
Farmers still attached 'alue to numbers rather
than quality and, as a result, the recommended
annual culling of unproductive and off-type
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animals has not been adhered to by the majority
of farmers.
Land degradation in Lesotho ic thought to be
a result of overstocking and overgrazing. The
management of rangelands is a responsibility ( f
chiefs who historically were effective
administrators. Apparently that effectiveness
has now been undermined (Mlotsamai, 1990) and
negligence has crippled the institution. Many
reasons have been cited as contributing L this
lack of effectiveness. One school of thught
points to the problems facing government in
providing the logistical support and manpower
to enforce regulations. Chiefs, however, have
voiced dissatisfaction with the manrei in which
trespassers are punished by the courts. In many
cases such people are not even brought to justice
and if they are, fines may not be meted out
according to the law. This, coupled with the delay
by courts in administering justice, makes
enforcement of regulations difficult.
Suggested framework for future
development prograrimc
The grazing fee regulation, depending on its
enforcement, will go a long way in improving the
rangeland. Government would do -well to
speedily gazette the regulations for their timely
implementation. The re-adjustment phase in the
initial years could be rough but farmers will
eventually become accustomed to it as they have
to other taxes.
Bocause of the inacoessibility of some areas
by road and, therefore, the , npracticability of
putting up new shearing sheds, the informal
traders wool and mohair "hawkers" (Hunter,
1987) must be revewed. It may be necessary to
re-legalise them to reduce or to completely
out-compete smuggling thereby releasing more
wool fr saic through the formal marketing
channels.
Government shcv:!d effectively work itselfout
of the marketing structures. Some farmers are
known to dislike LPMS because they see theni as
an agency designed to make profit for the
Government. The marketing ofwool and mohair
should be handed over to WMGA9, albeit
gradually, and maintenance of shearing sheds
and payment of staff thereof would effectively
ceade to be the responsibility ofgovrnment.
Synthesis of the development case sudies
Since the early days of Basotho nationhood wool
and mohair have been major sources of income
for rural farmers in many regions of Lesotho,
especially in the remote mountain areas.
Hence government has had to erect
structures for the continued growth and
development potential of Lesotho's most
important export product. The programmes by
necessity had to include policy issues on range
management and small stock production,