Poverty reduction strategy 2004/2006-2006/2007.

This Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) is a three-year medium term development framework (2004/05-2006/07) for Lesotho. It outlines national priorities and strategies for promoting economic growth and reducing poverty.
The PRS is based on a three-year consultative and participatory process involving communities and stakeholders nationwide.
The overarching development goal of the PRS is to provide a broad based improvement in the standard of welfare for the current generation of Basotho, without compromising opportunities for future generations.
The National Vision is that by the year 2020 Lesotho shall be a stable democracy, a united and prosperous nation at peace with itself and its neighbors. It shall have a healthy and well-developed human resource base. Its economy will be strong, its environment well managed and its technology well established.
The PRS is built on three inter-connected approaches: (i) rapid employment creation through the establishment of a conducive operating environment that facilitates private sector-led economic growth, (ii) delivery of poverty targeted programmes that empower the poor and vulnerable and enable them to secure access to income opportunities, and (iii) ensuring that policies and legal framework are conducive to the full implementation of priorities, that bureaucratic constraints are removed, and that the productivity of the public sector improve.
In order to eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition, the most critical areas that GOL will be addressing during the PRS period in order to improve both quality and access to essential health care include: provision of the nutrition food packages and micro-nutrient supplies to vulnerable Groups and improvement of access to social welfare services.
In order to make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable, the government will implement the following strategies: (i) adopt appropriate farming practices. The policy focus will be on crop diversification and substitution, encouragement of field crops in areas that are agro-ecologically suitable, exploring opportunities for block farming, especially in the lowlands areas, promotion of commercialisation of agriculture, and introduction of improved agricultural technologies, (ii) develop appropriate irrigation, especially low-cost, gravity-fed systems that the poor can sustain, while at the same time exploring opportunities for larger scale irrigation, (iii) incorporate agro-forestry practices into all scales of farming systems, (iv) strengthen and decentralise extension services at area level within all districts, (v) ensure an efficient and standardised land tenure system, (vi) encourage appropriate animal husbandry and fodder production. This will include the introduction of milk goats and indigenous poultry and promotion of fodder.
Regarding the reduction of rural poverty, over the next three years, GOL is committed to the following: (i) expand and promote pre-school education (Early Childhood Care and Development), (ii) promote culture as a means to unify the nation, develop tourism and generate income, (iii) review gender discriminatory legislation and introduce policy reforms to provide equal rights in accordance with international conventions to which Lesotho is a signatory, (iv) prevent the marginalisation of children and youth through restorative justice and improve facilities to enable people with disabilities to access basic services.
To enable inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, the government plans to enhance marketing by improving the response to regional and international market opportunities and facilitating the marketing of fresh produce locally and improve disaster preparedness for emergency food distribution to most vulnerable groups.
To increase the resilience of livelihood to disasters, GOL is committed to a number of specific pro-poor strategies to be implemented over the PRS period and ensure improved environmental management. These include: (i) promote environmental conservation for improved productivity by targeting committed families to be taught to harness water resources, increase ground cover and incorporate conservation and agro-forestry techniques into production, (ii) strengthen management of solid and water waste as well as air pollution, (iii) strengthen curriculum and media programmes on environmental education, (iv) reduce loss of bio-diversity by implementing the Maloti-Drakensberg Trans-Frontier Park, maintaining existing reserves and moving towards the establishment of nature reserves and protected areas, (v) address range management issues by establishing and/or revitalising grazing associations in collaboration with new local government authorities; and (vi) improve the legal, policy and institutional framework, giving particular attention to the capacity of the National Environment Secretariat and implementation of the Environment Act 2001.
In the context of governance, the implementation of the PRS will be a national effort, involving all sectors of Government in close collaboration with civil society and the private sector. To promote this, Government will encourage all ministries to acknowledge that other sectors or partners can probably implement aspects of PRS better than it can, and to strengthen such partnerships and even provide financing where appropriate. Thus, civil society organisations, NGOs, churches, the private sector and development partners will be viewed as partners.