(Tetun) Maize harvest season is commencing all over the country, providing more food to farming families and good seed for the 2015-16 cropping season, the last before Seeds of Life (SoL) terminates.
Fatuk Neso, a registered commercial seed producer (CSP) in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) Seed Department, are now harvesting their first commercial seed crop of the improved MAF-SoL maize variety Noi Mutin in aldeia Aidak, suco Bahalara-Uain, Viqueque municipality. (more…)
(Tetun) Timor-Leste has established its first national association of commercial seed producers (CSP) and elected a four-member executive committee during the general assembly of CSP held in mid-March.
The National Association of Commercial Seed Producers (Asosiasaun Nasional Produtor Fini Komersial or “ANaProFiKo”) is the umbrella organization that will safeguard the rights and interests of the 58 CSP currently registered to produce commercial seed in Timor-Leste.
(Tetun) Agricultural activities are the foundation of economic development in rural communities. When farming families have ready access to seed of improved varieties they can increase their crop yields and open the possibility to make profits.
Since May 2013, Seeds of Life has facilitated the integration of savings and loans (S&L) as a key activity of commercial seed producers (CSP) to assist the members in handling their financial assets.
(Tetun) Subsistence farming in the tough agricultural conditions of Timor-Leste is a slog. Let alone if you are a poor family in a remote area with only a small plot of land to farm and limited access to an extension officer.
That’s why MAF-SoL has created an initiative to help the less fortunate get access to improved varieties of staple crops that have been released by MAF. (more…)
