Drought Hammering Farmers In Southern African Kingdom Of Lesotho - AFP

For Lesotho farmer Setsabo Mothibeli it has been too long since the rain came, as he stands desolately among dried maize stalks in the barren field he should have been harvesting. Like many subsistence farms in the small southern African mountain kingdom, his fields would have fed about 15 people -- but another year of drought, another failed harvest and the news could not be worse for the small country.

"The stalks are so dry that they are useless even for the animals," says a frustrated Mothibeli, tossing aside the dried remains of maize that never grew to maturity. "We didn't harvest anything this year. We are stranded because even animals we were hoping to sell have been affected by the drought. There was no fodder for the animals so they are very thin and can't be sold at the market."

Driving out of the capital Maseru, field after field of knee-high withered maize bears testimony to the devastation wrought by the country's worst drought in 30 years. Each desiccated field would have supported scores of people and livestock who now pick desperately among the parched remains of the crops.

Even though it would have been harvesting season, some farmers can be seen trying to replough their fields in the vain hope that something will grow and feed their families. The brown and dusty landscape stretches endlessly, mercilessly, with the only hope for the Basotho that international donors will heed the call for more food aid as government declares a state of emergency.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Farmers_Buckle_Under_As_Drought_Ravages_Lesotho_999.html