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New report presents poverty alleviation policy options

[Lesotho] A Basotho farmer, Ntsane Moshoeshoe, is aware that crop failures and a scarcity of  arable land impacts on food security. IRIN
Years of drought has left many Basotho food insecure
Promoting employment and increasing access to arable land in Lesotho would go a long way towards dealing with pervasive poverty in the tiny mountain kingdom. Lesotho is classified by the United Nations as a least developed country. It is completely surrounded by its neighbour, South Africa, and its economy has been largely dependent on trade with that country and the dwindling remittances of miners working in South African mines. The government estimates that half the two million population lives in poverty, but a UN Development Programme report states that independent estimates of unemployment reach up to 70 percent. A recent report by the National University of Lesotho's Department of Economics says the promotion of educational opportunities would equip the labour force with skills that would make them more employable. The report, written by Davidson A. Omole, is entitled "Poverty in Lesotho: A case study and policy options". It was based mainly on statistical analysis of the results of a recent comprehensive household survey on the demographic dimensions to poverty in Lesotho. The study covered 410 households in the main rural and urban zones of the country, and probed household characteristics such as: size; income; educational attainment; occupation; monthly expenditure; access to basic social services; perceptions of households regarding their poverty status; possible causes of poverty and means of alleviating the poverty. However, the report made little mention of the impact of HIV/AIDS in a country with a prevalence rate of 31 percent. The survey found that "some families ... have virtually no income, which suggests that they would be surviving on subsistence production from owned farms or related sources such as borrowing". The lack of access to arable land - "about half the population does not have free access to farmland to produce food or other items for the family" - was highlighted as a major cause of poverty. "The majority of the people covered in the survey, which can also be regarded as a representative sample of the population, [live] below the poverty line [of less than US $1 a day]," the report noted. Several policy options for reducing poverty in Lesotho were recommended - the provision of micro-financing to small-scale entrepreneurs and farmers would "go a long way to alleviate poverty". "Investing in rural infrastructures that are capable of supporting intensified agriculture and possibly the production of export crops is very important. This will help to uplift the current subsistence practice in agriculture to a more sustainable agricultural production practices," Omole wrote. The majority of respondents, 83 percent, believed that a low level of education of the heads of households was partly responsible for the poverty in most households. It was contended that "for a long run solution to poverty problems, more children should be given more educational opportunities, even up to higher education levels". "Equally, private sector enterprises should be promoted in the country, including small-scale business initiatives. This can be achieved through the provision of small loans, coupled with [an] enabling regulatory environment," the report concluded.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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