Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste is a small, tropical, half-island nation with a population of approximately 1.1 million, of whom over 63% (Census, 2010) are engaged in crop production. Timor-Leste became independent in 1999, but it still suffers from of the decades-long struggle to achieve this. During 2008 more than half of the nation’s rural population lived below the poverty line of US >
Timor-Leste is a small, tropical, half-island nation with a population of approximately 1.1 million, of whom over 63% (Census, 2010) are engaged in crop production. Timor-Leste became independent in 1999, but it still suffers from of the decades-long struggle to achieve this. During 2008 more than half of the nation’s rural population lived below the poverty line of US $0.88 per day. However, Timor-Leste is currently ranked 6<.88 per day. However, Timor-Leste is currently ranked 6th on The Economist Intelligence Unit’s list of fastest growing economies.
Crops
A typical farming household in Timor-Leste is unable to derive a wide diversity of food crops and animals. Agriculturally this mountainous country lies midway between the Javanese rice culture and the Melanesian root-based culture. With features from both directions, its staple foods are the grains maize (Zea mays L.) and rice (Oryza sativa L.) and the root crops – sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L. (Lam.)) and cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) , peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), and various vegetables, fruits, spices and tree crops.
Agronomy
Maize and other rainfed crops are usually grown in mixtures in homestead plots or in “slash and burn” fields, often on sloping land, this is usually using farmer recycled seed and no inputs of chemical fertilizer or pesticide. Crops are usually grown without even organic manure, with crop nutrition being reliant on recycling of crop residues or natural vegetation and weeds. Yields are low with national averages of 2.2 t ha-1, while world averages are around 5 t ha-1. Last year maize is estimated to have been cultivated on about 37,000 ha and produced 80,000 t yr-1. Further to the problem of low maize yields and production, there are considerable storage losses of maize, mainly attributable to maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais).
Food Insecurity
Most farming families suffer from food insecurity producing insufficient cereal staples of maize and/or rice to last a full 12 months. In most farming households, the maize deficit period can range from 1 to 9 months and households are required to purchase maize or rice or rely on foraging from the natural vegetation (SOSEK, 2007). To address this deficit rice imports of around 100,000 t yr-1 are required. Considering that average global maize yields are of the order of 5 t ha-1 there appears to be considerable scope for increasing maize and other crop yields in East Timor.
Climate Change
Timor-Leste has a monsoonal climate with a dry season from around May to October and a wet season from November to April. The high mountain range running down the length of the island has a big impact on the climate. Along the south coast there is a bimodal wet season allowing two crops to be planted during the wet season.
Climate change predictions indicate an increase in temperature of around 1.5?C and an increase in rainfall of around 0 – 10% over the next 50 years. It is predicted that there will be a greater increase in rainfall in the higher altitudes where the rainfall is higher. Storm events and heat waves are predicted to intensify. Seeds of Life is assessing the impact of climate on agriculture and the implications of climate change for Timor-Leste.
Nutrition
58% of Timor-Leste’s population experiences reduced growth as a result of malnutrition, placing it among the worst in the world from a nutritional perspective. Furthermore, 38% of people in Timor-Leste suffer from anaemia: a decreased number of red blood cells often caused by iron deficiency. Anaemia can have severe health consequences. Fixing Timor-Leste’s nutrition deficiencies will require a multi-sectoral approach, but Seeds of Life is doing its bit by taking steps to further integrate nutrition into its food security efforts.
Seeds of Life
The Seeds of Life (SoL) within the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), directly addresses this national problem by improving food security through increasing the production of all five major food crops (maize, rice, sweet potato, cassava and peanuts)
Read more about SoL and its activities here.
