REMARKS BY THE UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, Mr. Georges van Montfort, at the occasion of the Mushroom symposium 14 Jan 2009

I would like to start by paying my respects to:
The Honourable Minister of Trade and Industry, Cooperatives and Marketing;
Principal Secretary;
Honourable delegates, heads of mission and representatives of the diplomatic corps;
UN colleagues,
Bo ‘M`e le Bo Ntate
All protocol observed

It is a great honour for the United Nations Development Programme to participate in this important symposium. The ambitious aims encapsulated in Lesotho’s Vision 2020 state that by the target year, “Lesotho shall be a stable democracy, a united and prosperous nation at peace with itself and its neighbors. It shall have a healthy and well- developed human resource base, a strong economy, a well managed environment and an established technological base”.

In order to achieve this ambitious vision and with that the Millennium Development Goals, it is important to look at the potential for economic growth. Lesotho's economic future depends largely on investment in human resources and the growth of the private sector within the country.

This should be achieved through the generation and optimal utilization of productive and management skills in the labor force, increased efficiency in private-sector operations, and value addition in service provision.

A major contribution of the Government of Lesotho to economic growth are the efforts to create a conducive environment for business, particularly export-oriented firms, by removing barriers to trade, mobilizing affordable investment capital and supporting initiatives in any economic activities in which Lesotho is perceived as enjoying comparative advantages.

Export-led growth and increased private sector investment are essential components of Lesotho’s quest to attain high, broad-based and sustainable economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction, particularly because of the country’s limited domestic market.

In the same vein, the push for agricultural development is geared to developing commercial production in commodities for which there is a perceived market niche, and through this the country pursues food security by promoting appropriate production activities targeting the poor. Examples of this are the mushrooms and peaches production promotion which are part of the Integrated Framework process supported by UNDP.

Let me note that, an important aspect of the Integrated Framework process is to strengthen the links between trade policy and poverty reduction strategies. This is also taking into account that Agriculture remains extremely important to the Lesotho economy.

However, agriculture has it challenges as productivity in the sector continues to be negatively affected by, amongst others, HIV/AIDS and climate change causing erratic weather conditions and a continuous decline of the quantity and the quality of arable land in Lesotho. Therefore, in investing in agricultural development, we need to take these different factors into account – both the challenges as well as the business opportunities. Hence, the choice of mushrooms and peaches due to their potential of high yields, export niche area and at the same time limited use of arable land.
Let me conclude by reiterating the fact that, in line with the commitment by the Government of Lesotho towards development of the country, UNDP is committed to its role as a development partner to advocate, provide policy advice and build capacity of institutions and its people to enhance systems and procedures towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.

I thank you for your kind attention and wish you a fruitful AND ABOVE ALL TASTEFUL symposium.