The primary objective is to increase and improve the bean production and quality among farmers in Leribe thereby improving food security and agro-ecosystems sustainability. Atop of that, it is to improve the revenue of the Leribe Farmers Forum by packaging, branding, and labelling NUA45 beans as a way of appealing to the consumers by November 2022.

Description of Project Activities

The project activities will be the production and narrative labeling of dry beans, particularly NUA 45 beans, and also address the related system gaps in the dry bean value chain for smallholder farmers in the Leribe area given that dry beans can be planted even in November in the Mountains and perform well even under climate change stress. The intervention proposed is based on the framework that starts with the farmer and their on-farm Farming Practices at the center of the system. Next, it acknowledges the critical Inputs (seeds and other agriculture inputs used by farmers) and Output considerations which input into the farm and process the outputs (retail, food processing & consumers) of the farm and such activities include: -
- Training of farmers on agricultural practices that enhance the production and quality of beans.
- Train LFF on drought adaptation strategies.
- Train LFF on good methods of packaging and narrative labeling of dry beans NUA45.

a) Proposed Interventions
The intervention is will be production and narrative labeling of dry beans, particularly NUA 45 beans and also address the related system gaps in the dry bean value chain for smallholder farmers in Leribe area given that dry beans can be planted even in November in the Mountains and perform well even under climate change stress. The intervention proposed is based on the framework that starts with the farmer and their on-farm Farming Practices at the centre of the system. Next, it acknowledges the critical Inputs (seeds and other agriculture inputs used by farmer) and Output considerations which input into the farm and process the outputs (retail, food processing & consumers) of the farm.
b) Linkage to other initiatives (local, district, national levels)
Narrative labelling will alleviate resource issues which impact on the farm operations, but which are often beyond the sphere of control of an individual farmer through collective marketing. To understand the history of the NUA 45 beans seed & product as a whole and farming system within which the farmer operates and to understand their climate resilience, all these elements will be considered in the intervention.
c) Implementation Strategy
Leribe Farmers Forum will plan together with its membership-smallholder farmers being owners of the dry beans and its products and recipes of small-holder producers? groups, unite and connect as producers and narrative labeling of their products will be facilitated to access alternative markets The association will link up with RSDA and other District Farmers Forums through the Lesotho Agriculture and Food Forum.

The following are innovative ways which will be used to promote sorghum at Senqu River Valley:

The local seed fairs will be set up according to guidelines that follow the Slow Food philosophy. These farmers run markets are important social meeting points, where local producers offer healthy, quality food directly to consumers at fair prices and guarantee environmentally sustainable methods.

Leribe Farmers Forum working with The Chef?s Alliance as a network of chefs defending food biodiversity across the world. The Alliance welcomes chefs with all kinds of cooking styles. What is important is that they always source quality ingredients (local, sustainable and seasonal), that they can communicate the origin of their products and that they know the producers who supply them.