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Tender description :
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Tender Are Invited For INCUBATION OF LESOTHO DECIDUOUS FRUIT FARMERS
LESOTHO COMPETITIVENESS AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION PROJECT (LESOTHO HORTICULTURAL INCUBATION & TRAINING CENTRE)
The Government of Lesotho, through the World Bank financed Competitiveness and Financial Inclusion (CAFI) Project, is supporting the establishment of the Lesotho Horticultural Incubation and Training Centre (LHITC), located at Mahobong in Leribe district, with the objective of scaling and replicating existing deciduous fruit commercial orchards and attracting new investments into the horticulture sector.
The pilot farms established under the first and second World Bank-financed Private Sector Competitiveness and Economic Diversification Projects (PSCEDP) have successfully demonstrated the commercial potential to produce deciduous fruits in Lesotho for both the domestic and export markets, and there is already significant interest from investors in commercial horticulture.
However, these investments can only be realized with a coordinated effort to address land administration challenges including the availability of land parcels of adequate size for commercial-scale production and adopting a transparent leasing system to achieve a credible land ownership. There is also a need for coordinated infrastructure investments in irrigation, electricity, roads, packhouses, phytosanitary inspection systems and grading, and private-public partnerships to deliver effective training and skills, and impactful extension services. It is against this background that the Government of Lesotho has established the Lesotho Horticultural Incubation and Training Centre.
The LHITC is in an existing facility which is owned by the National University of Lesotho (NUL) and it is adjacent to the two existing pilot commercial farms. The Centre is operated in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, and the National University of Lesotho (NUL).
The objective of LHITC is to provide support for scaling commercial horticulture farming in Lesotho, building on the experience of the current pilot commercial farms and addressing gaps in the value chain, access to suitable land, infrastructure, extension services, skills, finance, and markets while promoting climate-smart agricultural practices.
The LHITC is currently incubating the first cohort of 7 deciduous fruit farmers.
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