This PhD research is an investigation into the political ecology of farming in Lesotho, to see the power relations and driving influences that impact on local traditional agriculture. He is analysing and contrasting historical policy development and outlooks, coupled with government and NGO agricultural development projects and the farmer typologies and attendant local farming practices that exist. This study seeks to address what disjuncture(s), if any, exist between policy and reality for farmers, and how this can be ameliorated and remedied – what have been the structural/systemic causes for the continued failure of agricultural development initiatives?
Researcher
Tsekiso Ranqhai has a background in chemistry and environmental & geographical science (UCT), and an MSc in Chemistry. His interest in ecological farming systems stems from his childhood growing up in a small farming village in Lesotho with persistent food insecurity.