Food‐aid dependency in Lesotho: Issues and policy implications

Abstract

This article analyses food‐aid dependency in Lesotho and how it can be reduced. The study uses primary data on food aid, statistics collected from various food‐aid agencies and institutions, and secondary data obtained from government sources. Food‐aid de pendency is likely to continue in the long term, as food aid enhances food security in Le sotho by supplementing commercial imports to meet the shortfall in local cereal produc tion. Food aid improves the nutritional and consumption levels of vulnerable Lesotho households but shows no correlation with producer and consumer prices. If the level of food‐aid dependence is to be reduced, measures to alleviate poverty and generate income must be implemented.

Notes

This research was partly funded by the University of Natal Research Fund (UNRF). The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the UNRF.

Respectively, Graduate Student, Professor and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg. The authors thank two anonymous referees for constructive comments on an earlier version of the article.