Annual report on Basutoland / Colonial Office.

  • Great Britain. Office of Commonwealth Relations.
Date:
[1950]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on Basutoland / Colonial Office. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    8/90 (page 2)
    of the Territory. An Administrative Officer was seconded for the Survey, the field work being done by the Officers of the Agricultural Department. The work was organized on a random sampling basis in each geographi¬ cal area into which the country is divided, viz. the lowlands, the foothills, the mountains and the Orange River Valley. A survey of approximately 3,000 families has been completed and the results of it are now being worked out. The success of this important work was in large measure due to the help and willing co-operation of the Chiefs and their people. Secondly an aerial survey of the Territory was begun earlier in the year, and the ground control work is now in progress. The object of the Aerial Survey is to obtain accurate maps of the Territory which will be of the greatest use administratively and as a corollary of the Agricul¬ tural Survey for the planning of sound land usage. Soil Conservation work continued, and a record area was protected during the year. 30,000 acres were terraced in the lowlands and 28 large dams built. An application for Colonial Development and Welfare funds for a scheme for the speeding up of the existing conservation programme was submitted to the Secretary of State and a free grant of £122,200 was approved. An important part of this scheme is the employment of nine Development Officers, of whom five will be Basuto. Their work will be almost entirely in the field. They will live under canvas most of the time and their principal duties will be to intensify and coordinate the work on rotational grazing, to complete the branding and registration of stock, the construction of wool sheds, and the establishment of tree plantations. It is also hoped to establish a training centre for African staff. Courses are to include training in veterinary work and in soil conservation methods. Refresher courses will also be given to Agricultural Demonstrators. The principal measures involved in the introduction of grazing control are the complete de-stocking of overgrazed or denuded areas until recovery has taken place and the introduction of a simple form of rota¬ tional grazing. Considerable progress has been made with this work during the year particularly in the Pramount Chief’s own Ward, in the Mokhotlong district. The average rainfall for the year was 38 inches which is about 10 inches above the average. Crop prospects are therefore very good. Advantage was taken of the high price of wool to raise the export levy from \d. to id. per pound. The extra funds provided will be used for development work such as the importation of improved rams, the regis¬ tration and branding cf livestock, the building of wool-classing sheds, and the extension of grazing control. These measures are more fully described in Chapter VI of Part II of this Report. 3. CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES The number of registered co-operative societies increased this year from 14 to 27. There are now 6 wool and mohair marketing societies, 17 consumers’ clubs and 4 agricultural societies.