Building Resilience for Inclusive Food and Nutrition Security Project in Lesotho

The Building Resilience for Inclusive Food and Nutrition Security (BRIFoNuSe) project is a four-year African Development Bank–supported initiative that aims to strengthen climate resilience, food security and nutrition in Lesotho’s southern districts of Mohale’s Hoek, Quthing and Qacha’s Nek. Led by FAO in partnership with UNDP, UNICEF and UNESCO, the project targets smallholder farmers, vulnerable households and schools, with a strong focus on women, youth and persons with disabilities. It responds to persistent food insecurity, land degradation, climate shocks and low agricultural productivity that affect rural livelihoods.

The project combines climate-smart agriculture, sustainable land and water management, and nutrition-sensitive interventions. Key activities include solar-powered boreholes, rainwater harvesting systems, small-scale irrigation, sand dams, rangeland and wetland restoration, nursery establishment, poultry production structures and erosion control measures.These investments are designed to improve agricultural productivity, diversify diets, rehabilitate degraded ecosystems and enhance community resilience to drought and climate variability.

In addition, BRIFoNuSe strengthens institutional capacity for climate finance, disaster risk management and inclusive governance, while embedding strong environmental and social safeguards through an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), Stakeholder Engagement Plan and Grievance Redress Mechanism. Overall, the project seeks to deliver sustainable, climate-resilient food systems that reduce vulnerability and improve nutrition outcomes for rural Basotho communities.