The Baltimore Sun on Sunday examined the effects of drought, HIV/AIDS and cultural factors on farming and food production in Lesotho, where 70% of the population depends on agriculture for its income. According to a U.N. study conducted earlier this year, nearly one-quarter of all households in Lesotho were losing at least three months of labor annually to HIV/AIDS and other chronic diseases, and another U.N. study found that half of the country's farming families were suffering labor deficiencies because of "chronic illness," according to the Sun. Cultural factors, such as a traditional belief that farming should not occur shortly after the death of a villager, also are contributing to the nation's lack of food (Calvert, Baltimore Sun, 5/29).

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