The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) National Directorate of Community Development Services (DNADCA) and Seeds of Life successfully organized a one day workshop in Dili on 25 January 2012. The workshop was held to review the progress of the informal seed production component, particularly a) progress during the last six months, b) problems experienced and lessons learned, and c) suggested actions to resolve the problems. The workshop was inaugurated by the Director General, Mr. Lourenco Borges Fontes and Seeds of Life Team Leader, Mr. John Dalton. They highlighted the importance of the workshop for the continuing success of the informal seed production component. National Director of DNADCA, Mr. Januario Marcal de Araujo, welcomed all the participants and Mr. Buddhi Kunwar, Informal Seed Production Advisor explained the objective of the workshop.

A total of 47 participants (4 women) attended the workshop:  1 District Director from Liquica, 7 Chief of Extension Departments, 7 District Informal Seed Production Coordinators, 27 Sub-District Extension Coordinators and 5 Extension Officers from DNADCA.

The team from each of SoL’s seven current target districts (Baucau, Viqueque, Manufahi, Aileu, Ainaro, Liquica, and Bobonaro) presented their district progress, problems/issues and suggested actions to resolve the problems. The workshop focused on reviewing progress and problems of the four major food crops (maize, peanuts, sweet potato and cassava). Mr. Araujo congratulated participants for a successful workshop as it recognized the progress made so far, had a good understanding of the problems in Timor-Leste and provided valuable lessons and suggestions to overcome these problems in the future.