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LESOTHO 2025. Potato priority: the initiative transforming a nation’s vision and women’s livelihoods

26 May 2025, Semonkong, Lesotho. Young female farmer Maleuta Mahao, aged 27, in the process of harvesting potatoes by hand on her plot.

05/26/2025

Country or Territory Lesotho

Project ID Editorial use only. Photo credit must be given. For further information contact: Photo-Library@fao.org

UNFAO Source FAO Photo Library

File size 8.77 MB

Unique ID UF21C67

Editorial use only. Photo credit must be given. For further information contact: Photo-Library@fao.org

Background Information At just 27 years old, Maleuta Mahao represents a new generation of farmers in Lesotho. She started farming only two years ago with 25 kilograms of seed and recently harvested over 300 kilograms of potatoes. She says FAO’s One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) initiative helped her believe in herself. “I used to think farming was just digging,” she explains. “Now I know it’s business — about profit, planning and feeding the nation.” Inspired by her success, people in the village now ask her how she did it. “I want to be a big farmer and inspire others,” she says. “Start small, work hard and keep going.” Lesotho chose the potato as its priority product and joined FAO’s OCOP initiative in 2022. A primary activity of the project is to connect farmers to local markets to stabilize and increase their income from these priority crops.