Abstract
In sub-Saharan Africa, rain-fed agriculture remains one of the major sources of food, employment for low-skilled and rural community members and income for both commercial and subsistence farmers. Understanding problems posed by dry spells variability on agribusinesses is one of the critical challenges of our time. This study characterised dry spells in Lesotho for the improvement of agribusinesses using standardised precipitation (SPI) and standardised precipitation evapotranspiration (SPEI) drought indices. This study was found imperative mainly because Basotho’s livelihood is dependent on rain-fed agriculture and this study further aimed to provide an early warning system that could be used for policymaking against adverse effects of drought events in the area. A 30-year-long rainfall and average monthly temperature data were collected from 10 administrative districts of Lesotho and used to compute SPI and SPEI values. Three dry spell parameters – frequency, duration and intensity – were derived from SPI and SPEI time series. The main findings of this study were that all candidate stations experienced similar dry spell conditions in both duration and frequency and all the selected stations throughout the country experienced extreme drought intensity levels from both SPI and SPEI. Two of the 10 districts showed a statistically significant decrease in Mann Kendal’s trend from both SPI and SPEI time series. This implied that farmers must be encouraged to grow drought-resistant cultivars in order to sustain and support agribusiness in Lesotho. Rangeland policies and legislations must be enforced for livestock production, especially in the periods when extreme dry spell events are expected. The government and all other relevant stakeholders are, therefore, encouraged to devise means to support farmers with irrigation systems to maintain agricultural production, revenue and employees’ employment status.
Highlights
The Economic Research Services of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) listed Lesotho amongst the countries where approximately 100% of the population is projected to remain food insecure until 2022 (United States Department of Agriculture 2012)
Rainfall is the most critical and key variable for both hydrological and atmospheric circles, the lack of which leads to extremes such as droughts
All analyses that followed used standardised precipitation (SPI) only because of its sensitivity to pick up dry spells earlier than a water balance index (SPEI)
Summary
The Economic Research Services of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) listed Lesotho amongst the countries where approximately 100% of the population is projected to remain food insecure until 2022 (United States Department of Agriculture 2012) This food insecurity phenomenon has resulted in 80% of the population of this country being hungry because their livelihood means depend on rain-fed agriculture. Lesotho is known for its unique and rich cultural practices, such as the initiation of schooling [Lebollo] for both boys and girls This practice, which is intended to initiate boys and girls into manhood and womanhood, respectively, lasts approximately for 6 months where the initiates are constantly engaged in collecting large amount of firewood (Matobo, Makatsa & Obioha 2009). There are poor land policies and enforcement of management http://www.jamba.org.za
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