Those who feed the nation deserve national recognition

Theko Tlebere

When Basotho gather at the ‘Manthabiseng Convention Centre on 11 and 12 September 2026 for the Farmers Pitso Agricultural and Excellence Awards, they will be doing more than presenting trophies. They will be making an important statement about the kind of economy Lesotho wants to build and the people it considers central to national development. For generations, farmers have carried the burden of feeding families, sustaining rural communities and preserving agricultural knowledge. Yet farming is too often discussed only when harvests fail, food prices rise, livestock diseases spread, or the country experiences drought. Successful farmers rarely receive the same public attention given to politicians, entertainers, and other prominent personalities.

The Farmers Pitso Awards provide an opportunity to change this narrative. They remind us that those who feed the nation also deserve to be seen, respected, and celebrated. According to Seahlolo, Farmers Pitso started in Maseru in 2019 as a platform through which farmers could meet and exchange ideas. It has since expanded to several districts and developed around public gatherings, field visits, exhibitions, and awards. Under a three-year arrangement covering 2026–2028, Newsday Media now manages the awards, with Seahlolo responsible for organising and developing the platform. The stated ambition is to establish Lesotho’s most influential agricultural recognition platform.

The programme scheduled for 11 September will focus on schools, students, agricultural exhibitions and knowledge-sharing. The principal awards ceremony and gala dinner will follow on 12 September. This combination is significant because it brings recognition, agricultural education, business exposure and intergenerational learning into one national platform.  Agricultural awards may appear ceremonial, but recognition has real developmental value. It identifies practical models of success that other farmers can study and reproduce. When a vegetable producer, poultry farmer, wool and mohair producer, livestock breeder or agricultural processor is publicly recognised, the award tells the country that farming can be a serious profession and commercially viable enterprise. It helps replace the damaging perception that agriculture is an occupation reserved for the poor, the elderly or those who have failed to find salaried employment.

For young Basotho, visible agricultural success is particularly important. Young people cannot be expected to choose agriculture when they mainly encounter stories about crop failure, poor markets, livestock theft and unpaid loans. They must also see farmers who use technology, employ workers, enter formal markets, add value to agricultural products and build profitable enterprises. Recognition creates role models. A young person who sees a farmer from a village similar to his or her own succeeding is more likely to believe that farming is achievable. The distance between ambition and possibility becomes smaller. Awards can also improve the commercial visibility of farmers. A credible award provides an independent signal of discipline, productivity and innovation. This can help a farmer attract customers, retailers, financial institutions, development partners and suppliers. The trophy itself may not transform the farm, but the reputation, relationships and opportunities created around it can.

I really hate to make examples from our neighbour due the current deplorable treatment Basotho are experiencing, but nonetheless, South Africa offers useful evidence of how agricultural awards can form part of a broader farmer-development system. The Grain SA Farmer Development Programme, for example, recognises farmers at different stages: subsistence farmers, smallholders, potential commercial farmers and new-era commercial producers. This is an important design feature. It acknowledges that agricultural excellence cannot be measured by farm size alone. A farmer producing exceptionally from five hectares may demonstrate as much innovation and discipline as a commercial producer managing thousands of hectares.

At its 2024 awards, Grain SA recognised Petrus Ranko Tsotetsi as New Era Commercial Farmer of the Year, Alfred Gondo as Potential Commercial Farmer of the Year, Jim Besabakhe Masemola as Smallholder Farmer of the Year and Mhlangenqaba Mkizwana as Subsistence Farmer of the Year. Grain SA explains that its development programme is intended to bridge the gap between subsistence and commercial farming by addressing technical and business constraints. It also reports that participating farmers have progressed from yields of approximately two tonnes per hectare to as much as eight tonnes per hectare.

The longer-term stories are even more instructive. William Matasane, a former waiter who became a farmer, was named Grain SA Emerging Farmer of the Year in 2010. His son later completed a Bachelor of Agriculture degree and prepared to join the family farming enterprise. Koos Mthimkulu, the 2011 winner, also developed a farming operation that passed to the next generation, with his son later becoming a finalist in the same farmer-of-the-year competition. These are not merely stories about individuals receiving trophies. They demonstrate how recognition, mentorship and organised farmer support can build intergenerational agricultural enterprises.

There is also the example of Jeremia Makhosini Mathebula. He began farming in 2009 with 12 cattle and approximately 40 hectares of arable land. By 2018, he had become Grain SA’s New Era Commercial Farmer of the Year and received a tractor as part of the award. In the same competition, subsistence farmer Jenette Thembi Shoba was recognised after applying skills obtained through a Grain SA study group and producing 7.5 tonnes of maize from one hectare.  South Africa’s women-in-agriculture awards provide another important lesson. Mponeng Lentoro, named Top Entrepreneur in the commercial category in 2014, reportedly used her winnings to plant 25 hectares of irrigated white maize and purchase a vehicle for farm operations. Ivy Nokwanele Mzamo invested part of her award in machinery, expanded citrus production and entered additional export markets.

These farmers should inspire young Basotho, but their stories also teach a deeper lesson: awards work best when they are connected to farmer development, mentorship, finance, equipment, markets and technical assistance. They amplify success when they form part of an agricultural support system.

Lesotho does not lack agricultural talent. What it has often lacked is a sufficiently strong national platform for making that talent visible. Seahlolo has documented farmers such as Lepeli Moeketsi, who moved from lost yields towards climate-resilient production; Beleme Lebajoa, who has built a reputation in Merino sheep and ram breeding; Mateboho Thotanyane of Premier Farm; and Mamafole Rakuba of Foles Evergreen Farm, whose enterprise supplies vegetables to schools, supermarkets and street vendors throughout the year. It has also reported on Village Fresh Veggies and Meat, an enterprise that grew from cultivating vegetables on borrowed land into a diversified agribusiness producing vegetables, grains and meat. Greenek Pty Ltd, founded by Mamohase Rasekhethe, represents another story of resilience and growth in poultry farming. Such enterprises are not simply private businesses. They are living laboratories of local development.

The awards have also begun recognising schools involved in agriculture. In 2025, Seahlolo awarded M10,000 towards gardening equipment, with Qhomane High School taking first position, followed by Mohale’s Hoek High School and Ratsoeu High School. This is a valuable intervention because agricultural transformation cannot begin only when young people are searching for employment. Interest, knowledge and entrepreneurship must be cultivated while learners are still at school.  A learner who manages a school garden can begin to understand production planning, soil management, nutrition, record-keeping, teamwork and marketing. That learner may later become a horticultural producer, agricultural scientist, veterinarian, food processor or agribusiness entrepreneur.

The Farmers Pitso Awards will have their greatest effect if they are treated as the beginning of a development process rather than its conclusion. First, winners should become agricultural ambassadors who participate in school visits, farmer exchanges, public demonstrations and mentorship programmes. Their knowledge should not remain on their farms. Second, every winning enterprise should be documented. Basotho need practical case studies explaining how the farmer started, the mistakes made, methods adopted, markets accessed, jobs created and obstacles overcome. This would turn individual recognition into national learning. Third, sponsors should attach meaningful development opportunities to the awards. These might include equipment, production inputs, insurance, business-development services, training, market contracts and concessional finance. A trophy brings pride, but productive assets and reliable markets help a farmer expand.

Fourth, the awards should recognise the entire agricultural value chain. Lesotho needs excellent producers, but it also needs seed suppliers, extension officers, processors, transporters, veterinary professionals, researchers, agricultural journalists, exporters and technology innovators. Fifth, judging should remain transparent and evidence-based. Productivity, environmental sustainability, employment creation, innovation, food safety, financial record-keeping and community contribution should form part of the assessment. Credibility is the most important asset of any national award.

Finally, the event should be used to build a permanent network of finalists and previous winners. An organised Farmers Pitso alumni network could mentor new entrants, undertake joint marketing, share machinery, negotiate with suppliers and provide government with practical policy advice. Awards cannot substitute for a functioning agricultural policy environment. Farmers still require affordable inputs, irrigation, extension services, animal-health protection, agricultural finance, crop and livestock insurance, storage facilities and dependable markets.

Celebrating a farmer at a gala while leaving that farmer without access to water, veterinary services or a market would reduce recognition to symbolism. The public celebration must therefore strengthen the national demand for practical support. However, policy support without recognition is also incomplete. Development is driven not only by budgets and institutions, but also by social attitudes. A society invests in what it respects. If Lesotho wants young people to enter agriculture, it must present farming as a profession associated with knowledge, innovation, dignity and national service.

The Farmers Pitso Awards can help create that cultural transformation. They can make excellence visible, transform successful farmers into national teachers and demonstrate that agriculture is not a remnant of Lesotho’s past. It is central to the country’s future. When Basotho farmers walk onto the stage in September, they should not be viewed simply as competition winners. They should be recognised as entrepreneurs, employers, innovators, custodians of the land and defenders of national food security. The Future is NOW!

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