East Timor agriculture: strategic issues and policy directions

Introduction

Most honorable Mr. Lennart Bage, President of IFAD, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you Mr. President of the IFAD for giving me the opportunity to address this international assembly.
On behalf of the Government and the people of Timor-Leste, I would like to greet your Excellencies, the Council of Governors for this particular occasion, the 25 anniversary of IFAD, and also to commend your mammoth effort as Agency to reduce poverty and hunger in the world rural community.
It is with great honor, to accept, on behalf of my country, the formal induction of Timor-Leste, as a non-original member of this great organization. The Government and the people of Timor-Leste, extend their sincerest thanks and appreciation for this recognition.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Donor countries for contributing to rebuild Timor-Leste economy. I would also like to commend Portugal for the solid commitments given to Timor-Leste’s straggle for independence and now contributing as development partner to the reconstruction of Timor-Leste.
As you all know, Timor-Leste is currently undergoing a crucial political and economic transition. Agriculture plays a major role in this transformation process. The sector which, includes forestry and fisheries, dominates Timor-Leste’s economy. During the pre-independence period, the sector contributed to as high as 27 percent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 85 percent of employment, and 90 percent of foreign exchange. Today, agriculture contributes 21 percent to GDP, the main source of income of 94 percent of the villages; and provides 80 percent of the food and subsistence requirements of households in the rural areas who comprise majority of the 41 percent of the population suffering from poverty and food insecurity.
We take therefore, your invitation of Timor-Leste as a non-original member of IFAD very seriously. As a new nation, we feel that our membership with IFAD is timely and a great opportunity to seek your technical assistance in making our strategic vision for Timor-Leste agriculture, a reality.

Your Excellencies, I beg your indulgence to allow me to expound further our shared vision of Timor-Leste agriculture. We are currently evolving a medium term National Development Plan that is anchored on two national overriding goals: a) to reduce poverty in all sectors and regions of Timor-Leste, and b) to promote economic growth that is sustainable and equitable. The vision, mission and sector goals of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) are congruent with the national goals.

VISION

We envision that by 2020, Timor-Leste will have sustainable, competitive and prosperous agricultural, forestry, and fisheries industries that support improved living standards for the nation’s people.
MISSION

MAFF’s mission is to efficiently deliver to agricultural, fishing and forestry communities in Timor-Leste, services that support improved productivity, income earning potential’s and export’s that support improved social welfare in the rural areas of the nation, taking account of MAFF’s human, capital and financial resources.

GOALS

The goals of MAFF are central to the reduction of poverty in Timor-Leste. These include the twin goals of:

1. Developing the agricultural sector to ensure food security and enhanced access to market and distribution among the
a) Family (farming) sector
b) Cooperative sector
c) Private sector, and
d) Private sector with state’s participation (joint venture); and
2. Ensuring rural income/employment through an integrated farming systems approach, effective management of agriculture, forestry and fisheries resources; and agricultural products diversification, agro-forestry and value-adding activities.

STRATEGIC POLICY DIRECTIONS

To support the national development goals of poverty reduction and sustained economic growth, MAFF pursues two strategic policies: one is food security, a policy that ensures provisions of adequate availability of food at all times, across regions and among different groups. The other is a set of policies related to the generation of rural employment and provisions of alternative sources of incomes, most especially among the poorest of the poor, to be able to access not only food but, other basic services. These strategic policy directions are intertwined in the
different components of the MAFF’s action plan, which currently is in the process of refinement.

CONSTRAINTS TO AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION

Your Excellencies, MAFF is faced with several constraints in its attempt to transform Timor-Leste’s agriculture. Some of these constraints include, but limited to the following:

Low Agricultural Productivity

Agriculture in Timor-Leste is typified with low productivity. Yields per hectare and / or per production unit, are generally lower than Asian standards in almost all agricultural crops, livestock, and fishery production activities. This state of low productivity stems from farmers’ very limited access to technology and modern inputs due to shortage of cash, inadequate knowledge of alternative technologies, farm management skills and other technical support services. How to improve farmers’ productivity is one of the major challenges of the MAFF.

Diversification of Agricultural Production

Agricultural diversification reduces risk in agriculture. However, in the case of Timor-Leste, market demand that should induce agricultural diversification is limited. The transformation of Timor-Leste’s subsistence agriculture into a market driven economy, is to a major extent, mandated function of other Ministries, such as, Public Works and Communications,for infrastructure development, Commerce and Industry for market development and private sector participation, and therefore, outside of MAFF. The Government of Timor-Leste is committed to an integrated sustainable development thus strong and proactive linkages with these Ministries are imperative to overcome this constraint.

Limited Expansion of High Value Crops

Coffee has been the major export of Timor-Leste over the past years. However, stiff competition in global coffee trade has challenged the sustainability of coffee exports in the future. The limited volume of Timor-Leste’s potential exports (e.g. horticulture and industrial crops), coupled with untested quality, make the entry of potential exports in the niche markets difficult. In the meantime the rehabilitation of our coffee plantations is imperative to improve quality production and also to enable coffee farmer’s to intercrop coffee with other valuable cash crops.

Marketing and Transport of Agricultural Products

Marketing margins, and costs of transport and distribution are generally high in Timor-Leste because of inadequate and under-developed marketing infrastructures from the production areas (supply source) to the demand centers. The natural links of the rural (supplier of agricultural products) and urban centers (market destination of agricultural goods) are not optimized because of marketing/transport and other infrastructural constraints.

Natural Resources and the Environment

The basic natural resources (land, forest, marine) under the control of MAFF is in continuous depletion due to the demands of farming activities, household needs and urbanization. Because of forest degradation, many species of fauna and flora, including a number of marine species are under threat resulting to decline in biodiversity. The time has come for Timor-Leste to integrate environmental concerns into poverty alleviation.

Concluding Remarks

Your Excellencies, as a new country, we are experiencing the growing pains of nation building. In our Herculean tasks of trying to reduce poverty, and promote economic growth for our people, we opted to make agriculture the engine of growth of our national development strategy. We are confident that our twin strategic agricultural policies on food security and rural employment will become the building blocks of a sustainable economic growth and national development.

Mr. President, Governors and distinguished delegates, we are counting on your support and the 25 experience of IFAD to help us face the challenge of having to rebuild Timor-Leste’s economy from the ashes.

Finally, we hope that you join us in building Timor-Leste, a country worthy of her struggle for Independence.
Thank you.

Estanislau Aleixo da Silva
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries