A $31.4 million project by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), aimed at overhauling Lesotho\u2019s poultry industry, has been discontinued. The five-year initiative, part of the American Food for Progress programme, was intended to establish 28,000 poultry businesses and increase meat production by 40% and egg production by 30% by 2028.<\/p>\n
But less than two years after its launch, the Sustainable Transformation of Enterprises in the Poultry Sector (STEPS) project has been halted, leaving thousands of farmers uncertain about their future.<\/p>\n
Mampho Thulo, Managing Director of Rural Self-Help, expressed concern, noting that their organization had already been uneasy following the U.S. government\u2019s decision to cut funding from other programs like USAID, PEPFAR, and the recent R6-billion Millennium Challenge Account. She had hoped, however, that agricultural initiatives would remain unaffected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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