Powered by IFAD

Rural poverty in Lesotho

Poverty in Lesotho is deeply entrenched in rural areas, where about 70 per cent of the people live. More than half of rural people are poor, and more than one quarter of them are extremely poor. Poverty is closely linked to lack of income and unemployment, as well as to severe degradation of the natural resource base on which the livelihoods of many rural poor depend to a varying extent. Gross national income per capita in Lesotho is relatively high for sub-Saharan Africa, but there is a high level of inequality in income distribution.

The dramatic drop in remittances from migrant labourers in South Africa has thrust many rural households deeper into poverty. As demand for migrant labour declined and unemployed migrant workers returned to Lesotho, remittances shrank from about 60 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the 1980s to about 20 per cent in 2005.

People in search of wage employment migrate from rural to urban and peri-urban areas within the country, unless they find an opportunity to work in South Africa or elsewhere. Some people, especially younger women, have been able to find employment in the country’s new industries, mainly the textile industry. But available job opportunities cannot keep up with the demand for wage employment.

The agricultural sector, which accounts for about 17 per cent of GDP, is the primary source of income, or an important supplementary source, for more than half of the population in rural Lesotho. Of the country’s total land area, only about 10 per cent is classified as arable. The majority of small-scale farmers live on what they can produce from cultivating an average of less than 1.5 ha of land or from herding livestock on grazing land that is increasingly and severely degraded, or on occasional income from other sources such as casual labour or remittances. About 30 per cent of rural people live in extreme poverty. They include farmers who have less than 0.5 ha of land, people who are landless and households headed by women. People who live in the rugged mountain areas are significantly poorer than others in the country.

Most small-scale farmers do not have the labour or capital or the good access to improved technologies and support services that they need to use their land productively. Yields are low because of severe land degradation, reliance on rainfed farming and poor crop husbandry methods. The unfavourable climate (untimely and irregular rainfalls, abnormal temperature patterns, droughts, etc.), which is worsening as a result of global climate change, hinders exploitation of the agriculture sector’s potential.

The lack of investment in agriculture, the decline in agricultural production, the lack of income-generating activities and degradation of natural resources are among the principal causes of rural poverty.

Poverty has deepened in rural households that have to manage without the remittance income they formerly received from migrant family members. Livestock productivity has declined, as stock theft and rangeland degradation have made animal husbandry a less attractive source of income. Many young people turn away from farming as a livelihood, yet urban areas offer few adequate alternatives. HIV/AIDS takes its toll, and rural people’s scarce resources are consumed in caring for the sick, covering funeral expenses and supporting orphans.

Women in Lesotho
Women in Lesotho have a high status in society and a voice in local and national government. The country has one of the highest literacy rates in Africa. Girls have benefited from investments in education more than boys, who are often kept out of school to work as herders. With a solid education behind them, many women in Lesotho have achieved positions of influence in households and institutions.

In the past, when males went directly from herding to working in the mines, there was little incentive for them to attend school. This resulted in a significant gender difference in favour of females. The gender gap in education began to narrow when the government introduced free primary education in 2000 and school enrolment rose dramatically.

More than half of all households in Lesotho are headed by women. While education has benefited many women, there are large numbers of poor women, particularly in rural areas, who remain disadvantaged. Households headed by single mothers or women who are divorced, widowed or abandoned by their husbands are among the households with the highest incidence of poverty. Women who are heads of poor households are likely to have lost the assets they once possessed and are less likely to own agricultural assets such as livestock. They have difficulty securing the cash they need to feed and provide for their families. But households headed by women whose spouses have migrated in search of wage employment and stay away from home for considerable amounts of time, tend to be better off.

Source: IFAD