Maseru — Prime Minister Sam Matekane’s much-publicised “500 tractors scheme” is beginning to look like another political mirage after a Lesotho Tribune undercover investigation revealed that farmers hoping to benefit are being turned away under stringent commercial lending conditions.
Two weeks ago, the government announced with fanfare that it had signed an agreement with Lesotho Post Bank, meant to unlock financing for farmers to buy tractors under what the Prime Minister called a national mechanisation drive. The deal involved the Ministry of Finance, acting as guarantor, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, under a Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme.
During the signing ceremony, Lesotho Post Bank stated that government would deposit M50 million as a guarantee fund. Out of this, farmers would supposedly enjoy a 30 percent subsidy on the cost of tractors and accessories, keeping prices “affordable.” The bank further explained that farmers would apply in writing, after which it would perform due diligence before recommending applicants to the Ministry’s deputy principal secretary for approval.
That was the official narrative. What Lesotho Tribune discovered tells a different story.
On the Ground: Promises Collide With Policy
On Monday, a Lesotho Tribune reporter went undercover alongside a group of hopeful farmers who attended a briefing session at Lesotho Post Bank.
The tone of the meeting quickly turned uneasy. According to the bank official who addressed the group, applicants would be required to meet normal commercial lending standards, including proof of income, financial statements, a lease showing control of at least 10 hectares of land, and 30 percent collateral.
Only after these hurdles would the bank “assess the bankability” of each applicant. The moment those words were uttered, murmurs of anger and disbelief spread across the room. Farmers who had expected a state-backed subsidy realised they were being asked to meet conditions few smallholders can fulfil.
When asked specifically about the 200 tractors reportedly reserved for youth, the official said she was “not aware of such an arrangement.”
The same official later added that the Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme was not new, explaining that it began during the Majoro administration in 2021, and that “the current government merely increased the guarantee from M50 million to M200 million.”
Conflicting Messages and Silence
These revelations directly contradict Prime Minister Matekane’s public statements suggesting the scheme would immediately make tractors accessible to ordinary farmers. Instead, what appears to exist is a standard bank-loan facility with partial government backing, hardly a subsidised mass programme of 500 tractors.
Lesotho Tribune contacted both Lesotho Post Bank and the Office of the Prime Minister to reconcile these conflicting accounts.
The bank said its spokesperson responsible for media queries “will be available next week.” Repeated calls and written questions to the Prime Minister’s office went unanswered by press time.
Farmers Feel Misled
For many farmers who attended the session, the experience felt like a betrayal. “We were told this was a government project that would help us own tractors,” one attendee said after the meeting. “Now they are asking for collateral and ten hectares, they knew we wouldn’t qualify.”
As frustration grows, agricultural analysts warn that the government’s credibility is at stake. What was marketed as a flagship empowerment initiative now looks like a repackaged credit programme, raising questions about whether Lesotho’s leaders are inflating development announcements for political effect.
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Editorial Note
If the Prime Minister’s office fails to clarify how the “500 tractors scheme” differs from previous credit-guarantee programmes, the public will be left to conclude that the promise was, at best, exaggerated and at worst, misleading. For farmers already battling rising input costs, the hope of mechanised agriculture may once again be postponed by political spin.
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