Over thousands of years, subsistence farmers of Timor-Leste have adapted to an uncertain and changing climate. They have learnt how to farm both the tropical  lowlands with heat loving crops (like corn and cassava) and the cool highlands where they grow coffee, wheat and potatoes.  They have also adapted to the highly variable  rainfall from year to year, the steep slopes and poor soils by relying on a  wide range of planted crops and collecting a even wider range of wild foods.

Like most of the world, Timorese farmers will need to continue to adapt to the challenges ahead. These will  likely include even greater climate variability, even more extreme weather  events and a rapidly increasing population requiring increased food production and opportunities for employment.

Seeds of Life is  helping to identify the implications for food security of the twin challenges  of climate change and population growth.  Part of this research has  recently been published in the prestigious journal AMBIO. For more  information follow this link. Ambio_Climate Change 2012