CHAPTER 4
ENHANCING THE WOOL AND MOHAIR VALUE CHAINS IN LESOTHO
At the time of project design in 2014, poverty in Lesotho was (and remains today) widespread, particularly in rural areas and even more so in the mountainous parts of the country. The overwhelming majority of rural dwellers relied on agri- culture for their livelihoods, with livestock production domi-
In this context, in 2014 the OPEC Fund approved a US$12 million loan to the government of Lesotho for a project co-financed with IFAD to support the sustainable develop- ment of this sector. Its objective was to enable smallholder livestock producers to generate higher incomes and more
nating the rural economy: Livestock activities comprised 4.8 percent of GDP compared to agricultural crops’ 1.9 percent. Wool and mohair constituted the country’s primary agricultural exports, with Lesotho being the world’s second largest producer of these products.
However, wool and mohair production was at major risk from environmental degradation stemming from over- grazing of rangelands. Moreover, the compounding impacts of climate change on the fragile mountain eco-systems further threatened wool and mohair output and therefore the livelihoods of the rural population mainly composed of poor small-scale farmers.
sustainable livelihoods, as well as to increase their ability to cope with and recover from environmental shocks. Imple- mentation started in 2016 and the project was completed in December 2023.
The project introduced climate-smart rangeland manage- ment, improved livestock production and management
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