IMPORTING live chicken and viable eggs into Lesotho is becoming increasingly disorganised, and farmers are claiming unfair treatment from the government.

The dispute surrounding the importation of chicken into the country from South Africa remains unresolved, as small scale poultry entrepreneurs voice their discontent with the government’s partiality towards them in comparison to larger businesses when it comes to the procurement and selling of chicken.

Their dissatisfaction stems from the government’s move to restrict importation to frozen chicken exclusively, after Lesotho imposed a four-month embargo on poultry items.    

The ban was implemented due to avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, which struck some areas of South Africa last year.

Avian influenza is a viral infection that can affect both birds and humans.

Symptoms of bird flu in humans include cough, diarrhoea, respiratory difficulties, fever, headache, muscle aches, malaise, runny nose, and sore throat. The virus is transmitted to humans through contact with infected bird faeces, nasal secretions, or secretions from the mouth or eyes.

To ensure the safety and security of Lesotho's poultry industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, specifically its Department of Livestock Services, took this necessary action. As a result, all import permits for poultry and poultry products were immediately invalidated.

However, local poultry supply associations stated on Wednesday that the lifting of the ban on frozen chicken does not benefit local chicken suppliers but rather benefits large retailers.

Despite their efforts to persuade the government to lift the ban, the importation of fertile eggs and chicks is still prohibited in the country.

According to the association’s chairperson, Mantsane Ntekoa, they initially wrote a letter to the Prime Minister's office regarding the ban on poultry products in Lesotho, where they appealed to Prime Minister Sam Matekane, to revoke the ban.

“The Ministry of Agriculture urged us to import poultry products from other countries following South Africa's "red alert" status by the World Organisation of Animal Health,” she said.

Despite their efforts to find alternative sources in neighbouring countries, including Eswatini, they were unsuccessful.

"We were then advised to visit Eswatini to learn how they run and monitor the poultry business, but after our return with the Ministry of Agriculture under Livestock, there was still no clear solution,” Ntekoa said.

Instead of the ministry coming up with a favourable solution for the entire nation, she said the government last week lifted the ban on frozen chicken only.

According to the Minister of Agriculture, Food Security, and Nutrition, Thabo Mofosi, there is a new agreement between the two countries that commenced last week.

The agreement is to select places from which Lesotho will import frozen chicken in South Africa.

He said both South Africa and Lesotho health specialists will coordinate the process, while South Africa will have to issue a certificate when it adds more sourcing places.

“It is, however, still risky to import live chickens into the country, which is why frozen chicken was found eligible. We have also selected the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries that will assist in this situation, excluding S.A.

“Both eSwatini and Zambia are the right countries to import from to assist Basotho. eSwatini is able to produce its own poultry products without relying on other countries, except for fertile eggs, which it also imports from South Africa.

“To enable Basotho to produce their own chicken as well as other countries, we have included in the 2024/2025 budget speech that farmers and individuals are met half-way in terms of costs and transportation while importing chicks.

“We are already in negotiations with the Ministry of Finance to see to it that they include all that. Also, each district will have to issue a list of poultry producers to enable productivity,” he said.

Mofosi added that the marketplace is wide open at the moment, and many franchises in the country have already stated how much chicken they need.

For instance, he said KFC needs about 190 000kg of chicken in about 10 months and 120 000kg between the months of November and December, which is the peak.