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

27 May 2025, Mesonkong, Lesotho. Potato sorting in the home of farmer and community leader Mabitsoane Diholo’s.

05/27/2025

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 17.49 MB

Unique ID UF21C64

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

Background Information Amidst craggy peaks and rolling highland plateaus characteristic of the Lesotho’s terrain, there is a remote town in the mountains of Maseru District where Mabitsoane Diholo goes every day to work on her farm. The humble potato is her main crop, but humble no longer describes its place in her life. Mabitsoane is one of 750 farmers who FAO supported through the One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) initiative. A lead farmer and active member of the Potato Lesotho Association, she also runs a roadside eatery and mentors others in her community. Whereas she used to sell whatever potatoes she had leftover by the road, with her increased volume thanks in part to seeds and fertilizers provided by FAO, she now sells to Maluti Fresh Produce Market in Maseru. A primary activity of the OCOP project is to connect farmers to local markets to stabilize and increase their income from these priority crops. Lesotho chose the potato as its priority product and joined FAO ’s OCOP initiative in 2022.