| Description | Rural Self-Help Development Association (RSDA) is a non-governmental organization registered in 1991 under Lesotho Societies Act of 1966. RSDA works with smallholder farming community to promote sustainable agriculture, agricultural market development from farm to fork, environmental conservation, demonstrations and advocacy.
RSDA has over 30 years of experience in community mobilisation, capacity building of rural communities, nurturing collaborative relations with stakeholders, income generating, coalition building using appreciative inquiry method for promoting smallholder farmers groups converging into forums/coalitions from farm to plate and that of developing manuals and info-graphics to guide smallholder and rural communities.
RSDA’s strategy has three pillars namely: strategic service delivery for livelihoods promotion, capacity development - coalition building and social cohesion; training, income generation, nutrition and policy influence (advocacy) for networking and partnership building. RSDA is touching the ground through District Farmers’ Forums in all the 10 Districts of Lesotho with the current membership of over 9,600 farming households.
Our current activities include the following:
RSDA provides aggregation facilities for smallholder farmers in the 10 districts, runs village poultry demonstration farm and hatchery, beekeeping, offers training services.
RSDA also has a social enterprise which currently sells beans, renewable energy devices and village chicken.
We document impact stories from farmers by profiling them and using the Most Significant Stories methodology and farmers activities are documented through RSDA customised Management Information System.
Farmers are capacitated through trainings, earth markets, exposure visits and RSDA runs farmers championship to create peer pressure and support.
In all our programming RSDA mainstreams gender issues using Gender Action Learning System methodology in agriculture.
RSDA is currently working on Mountain Partnership PGS organic certification and Slow Food Narrative labelling for farmers products. Currently developing organic production protocols for smallholders’ products.
Our focus also is in the following:
• Promote climate adaptation measures in value chains by building capacity to match production capacities and methods with changing availability of natural resource capacity development.
• Prioritize support to value chains that are most supportive of resilience building and low carbon development.
• Promote product labelling for green (and climate friendly) products and ensure inclusion of small producers.
• Promoting businesses in organic fertilizers, integrated pest management, and in storage of agricultural products. |
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