Fellow countrymen and friends,

Two years ago when I addressed you on the critical situation we were experiencing in food security, I least thought I would be declaring another state of famine this soon. As you have seen for yourselves, the last few years were characterised by unusual climatic conditions in the whole of   Southern Africa. Lesotho has not been spared these peculiarities, with the unfortunate result that i must now declare that Lesotho is in a serious state of food insecurity.

To recapitulate: during the 2001/2002 cropping season, we experienced unseasonably heavy rainfalls countrywide, and hailstorms in the southern districts. Worse still, there were severe and early frost. The following cropping season (2002/2003) was characterised by a very dry spell, which prevented timely planting of food crops. Last winter saw neither rain nor snow throughout the season. This meant that winter crops could not be planted. The continued drought through the summer of 2003 has meant a further delay in the planting of crops this season.

Consequently, over and above food insecurity there is now a severe shortage of water, for both human and livestock consumption. Major streams and rivers have run dry. recently, we had to release some water from the 'Muela Dam to improve the flow of the Mohokare (Caledon) River, so that the water demand in Maseru could be met with more certainty. The long period without adequate rains has reduced the water table in the country so drastically  that wells have not been refilled even after the recent showers. In many villages, it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet the water demands of our people. Many have been forced to collect untreated water from rivers, dams and other unhealthy sources. This exposes people to the risk of communicable diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea and typhoid.

In addition, our people are suffering untold hardships because of the increasing impact of HIV and AIDS. It is estimated that 30% of our population live with the HIV virus. The aggregate of all these factors, compounded by the very low purchasing power of the majority of our people, has resulted in the poor being severely affected. If we cannot produce adequate food crops, our people have to buy staples such as maize meal. With little or no purchasing power, the poor are in dire straits, as they can neither plant food crops in the fields not afford to buy food products in the shops. Quite a vicious circle by all accounts!

• When Lesotho and five other Southern African states launched the Consolidated Emergency Appeal in July 2003, we had assumed that the drought would not go beyond that cropping season. Furthermore, the Appeal was primarily aimed at assisting our countries to adequately feed those members of our populations affected by HIV and AIDS, as well as other vulnerable groups such as the elderly. For Lesotho, it is estimated that 392 000 people required the food aid that we would receive in response to the Appeal. However, it is now abundantly clear that the situation has worsened significantly since then. In addition to the 32 000 metric tonnes of maize and other cereals requested in the Appeal, Lesotho now requires 57 000 metric tonnes of food products. It is estimated that this will feed the 600 000 people who will need food aid until the 2005 harvest season.

In view of the foregoing, I call on friends of Lesotho, including all our Development Partners, to assist us address the crisis that our country is facing.

Mosotho o ee a re, "Moketa ho tsosoa o itekang." In other words, one helps those who help themselves. in keeping with this maxim, Government has devised some strategies to ensure national food security in future. These include the following:

• Two mutually reinforcing Ministries have been created, namely, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Ministry of Forestry and Land Reclamation;

• The development of an Irrigation Master Plan that will enable the networking of irrigation throughout the country. In the meantime, 59 irrigation sites are being surveyed on the foothills, to assess their suitability for the installation of simple gravity irrigation equipment, which should increase harvest yields;

• The identification of agriculture as a key sector in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP);

• The promotion of block farming for intensive agriculture, in rain-fed and irrigation conditions;

• The establishment of Range Management Areas to improve rangelands and manage this resource in a more sustainable manner; and

• The promotion of conservation farming and water control, using the catchment approach.

To conclude, it is vitally important for me to point out that Government views this appeal for assistance as a short-term measure, to alleviate famine among our vulnerable socio-economic groups. In order to translate into action our plans for addressing food insecurity as indicated above, our Government requires increased assistance from its Development Partners. We appeal for adequate resources to reduce dependency on food aid in the long term. in the meantime, we will continue with our resolve to revitalise agriculture, so that we can attain food security for our nation in the medium- to long-term.

                     KHOTSO!           PULA!               NALA!

11 February 2004