…Wins Seahlolo’s M10,000 prize in a competition designed to connect classroom knowledge with practical farming and the next generation of agriculture.
Iketsetseng Horizon High School emerged as the agricultural champion at the 2026 Farmers Pitso National Schools Agriculture Challenge, taking home the M10,000 first prize sponsored by Seahlolo Newspaper.
Its victory crowned a year of preparation that brought teachers, learners and parents together around a shared goal: understanding agriculture and putting that knowledge into practice.
The school was among 27 high schools from eight districts that participated in the challenge held on 11 September as part of Farmers Pitso Agriculture Week.
Through oral competitions, quizzes and project exhibitions, learners demonstrated their agricultural knowledge and the practical skills they were developing at school.
The schools’ day had a deliberate place in the four-day programme.
Between the National Farmers Knowledge Exchange and the public exhibition and farmers awards, it gave young people a stage of their own. The intention was to build interest in agriculture early, connect learning with production and show learners the opportunities across the food value chain.
For Iketsetseng Horizon agriculture teacher, Tlotliso Selibo, the result reflected sustained effort rather than preparation for a single competition.
“The path to this victory was paved through intensive preparations and careful skill development among all teachers, students and parents,” Selibo said.
She explained that the school works throughout the year to connect the syllabus with practical activities.
“Classroom lessons are followed by opportunities for learners to apply what they have been taught. Our students spend 80 minutes hands-on, applying real-world techniques to key target crops including cabbage, peas, onion, carrots and beetroot.”
Selibo stressed that working with different crops exposes learners to different growth cycles and management requirements.
“It also gives them a practical reference point when discussing agricultural concepts: the lesson is something they have worked through themselves. Preparing for the competition required another kind of discipline. Learners practised answering questions accurately and pronouncing technical terms clearly so that judges could understand their responses.”
Selibo said that process was demanding, requiring attention to both knowledge and presentation.
“Parents also contributed to the school’s preparations. Through their support, we managed to bring the award home, and as they are playing their part correctly, we would like to thank them,” he said.
The competition required schools to demonstrate what learners knew and how they could apply it. Iketsetseng Horizon’s performance across the assessed activities earned it the overall title, giving Selibo a moment to reflect on the work behind the result.
“I am very proud as a teacher, recognising that my work is really perfect and students managed to understand my teaching,” he said.
The achievement came at a significant point in the school’s development, as its first Grade 12 cohort prepared to sit examinations.
“This win is bigger than a person can think, as it will be our first time students will be sitting for Grade 12, and the win reflected the work we have put in for the past four years.”
Selibo said the prize would help the school address challenges, although he did not specify how the money would be used.
“To Seahlolo, we would like to pass our appreciation as a school because through their sponsorship our challenges will be solved.”
Presenting the award, Seahlolo founder and Newsday Media Managing Director Lerato Matheka congratulated the school and linked its achievement to the wider purpose of bringing learners into Agriculture Week.
“Congratulations to Iketsetseng. Handing you this M10,000.00 is our commitment as a publication. We want to be part of the progress when agriculture becomes a fashion and young people enjoy,” she said.
Her message addressed an image of farming that the schools’ challenge sought to change.
“Gone are the days when farmers were viewed as old and uneducated; children need to be encouraged at a young age to see agriculture as the future.”
Matheka said schools have an important role in making agriculture attractive to young people and building the knowledge needed for Lesotho’s food sufficiency and sustainable production.
Her ambition extends beyond encouraging learners to grow crops. Placing their competition within Agriculture Week connects school agriculture with a wider sector of farmers, researchers, businesses and institutions. It gives learners an opportunity to see where agricultural knowledge can lead, in production, science, processing, technology and enterprise.
Molapo Shakhane, a member of the schools’ competition organising team, said Seahlolo’s sponsorship had helped strengthen their initiative as the Lesotho Agriculture Teachers Association (LATA).
“We thank Seahlolo for helping our journey be very attractive. With less than three years of hosting the schools’ competitions, the 2026 edition is not only attractive but very successful. We have 27 schools from 8 districts and over 1000 learners here. This is beyond vibrant; it is amazing and definitely national.
“I remember our conversation with Mme Lerato about hosting the competition at a national level. We could see her passion, but we didn’t understand what she was talking about; today paints a very clear picture. With Seahlolo, we don’t only have a best sponsor but a heartfelt partner. With what this first event looks like today, we are looking forward to the 2027 edition,” he said.
“I want to congratulate Iketsetseng Horizon High School for winning the first prize and to all who participated, and I would like to see schools being more dedicated next year.”
Alongside the celebrations, Shakhane acknowledged organisational difficulties that would need attention before the next competition. Communication between school structures in different districts had been uneven, leaving some participants uncertain about the requirements.
“We met some challenges of lack of communication among school organisations in different districts, as some members did not have a clear picture of what was supposed to happen, and we made a resolution that for next year we will hold meetings before awards in order to have a clear competition structure.”
Time management also presented difficulties. Shakhane said organisers would work to improve scheduling and strengthen the assessment of exhibitions. He raised concerns about whether some displayed products reflected agricultural work actually undertaken at the participating schools.
“Other schools exhibited non-existent products in their schools, and that became a challenge; for next year, we will make strict ways of assessing and analysing exhibitions from different schools,” he said.
Those improvements matter to the challenge’s educational purpose. Exhibitions should give learners a chance to explain work they understand and have participated in, while clear rules should allow every school to prepare on equal terms.