Food security in Timor-Leste through crop production ACIAR PROCEEDINGS 146 Food security in Timor-Leste through crop production Proceedings of TimorAg2016, an international conference held in Dili, Timor-Leste, 13–15 April 2016 Editors: Harry Nesbitt, William Erskine, Cesar Jose da Cruz and Anne Moorhead 2016 The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) was established in June 1982 by an Act of the Australian Parliament. ACIAR operates as part of Australia’s international development cooperation program, with a mission to achieve more productive and sustainable agricultural systems, for the benefit of developing countries and Australia. It commissions collaborative research between Australian and developing-country researchers in areas where Australia has special research competence. It also administers Australia’s contribution to the International Agricultural Research Centres. Where trade names are used this constitutes neither endorsement of nor discrimination against any product by ACIAR. ACIAR PROCEEDINGS SERIES This series of publications includes the full proceedings of research workshops or symposia organised or supported by ACIAR. Numbers in this series are distributed internationally to selected individuals and scientific institutions, and are also available from ACIAR’s website at <aciar.gov.au>. The papers in ACIAR Proceedings are peer reviewed. © Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) 2016 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from ACIAR, GPO Box 1571, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia, [email protected] Nesbitt N., Erskine W., da Cruz C.J. and Moorhead A. (eds) 2016. Food security in Timor- Leste through crop production. Proceedings of TimorAg2016, an international conference held in Dili, Timor-Leste, 13–15 April 2016. ACIAR Proceedings No. 146. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research: Canberra. 187 pp. ACIAR Proceedings – ISSN 1038-6920 (print), ISSN 1447-0837 (online) ISBN 978 1 925436 49 5 (print) ISBN 978 1 925436 50 1 (PDF) Design by Peter Nolan, Canberra Printing by Bytes ’n Colours, Canberra Cover photo by Conor Ashleigh Foreword Timor-Leste, with a population of approximately 1.2 million, is a largely agrarian society and agriculture accounts for one-third of the gross domestic product (GDP). Approximately 64% of the population is engaged in agricultural activities, with a majority relying exclu- sively on low-input/output subsistence farming. Broad-based economic growth, inclusive of agriculture, is essential to ensure sustainable reductions to the current high rates of poverty, particularly in rural areas. Food security is an ongoing country-wide problem. Although the amount of food con- sumed for each individual has steadily increased since 1996, it remains well below that in neighbouring countries and malnutrition remains unacceptably high. Many families experience a ‘hungry season’ of up to 4 months per year. One of the biggest challenges faced by the nation is to increase production of the main staple crops. While a range of factors contribute to the low productivity (for example use of low yielding varieties, poor agronomy, and high postharvest losses), making available improved varieties with higher yield potentials is where the most immediate and significant gains can be obtained. In collaboration with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Timor-Leste Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) has played a key role in the Seeds of Life project, which is working towards a sustainable national seed system for Timor-Leste. The project has improved food security through the introduction, testing and initial distribution to farmers of improved germplasm of the major food crops: sweetpotato, maize, cassava, peanut and irrigated rice. The TimorAg2016 Conference was held in Timor-Leste in April 2016 and was a celebra- tion of the conclusion of the 16-year Seeds of Life project. The theme for the confer- ence was ‘food security in Timor-Leste through crop production’ and discussions were held around factors affecting crop production in Timor-Leste and the success technical advances have made to improving productivity. Two days of oral papers and posters were delivered across a number of sessions focusing on food security, elements for agricultural development in Timor-Leste, crops and their environments, reaching a food surplus, and communication of agricultural innovations. On day three, delegates went into the field to see the results in action, including a visit to a commercial seed producer in Liquica, and to the Loes Research Station. There were 260 registered participants and the conference was conducted in both English and Tetum, with simultaneous translation. These proceedings describe the progress made by the Seeds of Life project and other partners and stakeholders in improving crop production, nutrition and access to food for households in Timor-Leste over the past 16 years. They provide a valuable contribution to the discussion on further advancing the country’s agriculture sector to achieve food security in Timor-Leste. Nick Austin Chief Executive Officer ACIAR 3 Contents Foreword 3 Welcome address 7 Section 1: Food security 9 Global food security and Timor-Leste 10 Tony Fischer The nutrition situation in Timor-Leste 19 Heather Grieve, Orlinda dos Reis Albino and Filipe Da Costa Improving food security through agricultural development in Timor-Leste: experiences under 13 years of democratic government 30 Cesar J. da Cruz Advances in food availability in Timor-Leste 38 Luc Spyckerelle, Octaviana Ferreira Agostinho, Sabilio dos Santos, Lucia Viana Branco and Julie Imron Section 2: Elements for agricultural development in Timor-Leste 47 The role of international germplasm exchange in agricultural development 48 Eric Huttner and Julie M. Nicol Theory, practice and results of food crop variety evaluation and release in Timor-Leste, 2001–16 53 Robert L. Williams, Harry Nesbitt, Claudino Nabias, Ermelinda Hornai, Luis Pereira, Luis Almeida and William Erskine Seed multiplication and distribution: selecting the best option for Timor-Leste 64 Buddhi Kunwar, John Dalton, Leoneto Hornai and Harry Nesbitt Collection and on-farm conservation of plant germplasm in Timor-Leste: prospects and challenges 74 Xisto Martins Characterisation of farmer groups successfully multiplying and disseminating seed in Timor-Leste 81 Modesto Lopes 5 Section 3: Crops and their environments 89 Conservation agriculture in Timor-Leste: experiences and opportunities 90 Rubén Flamarique Urdín Wild plant food in Timor-Leste 99 William Erskine, Anita Ximenes, Diana Glazebrook, Marcelino da Costa, Modesto Lopes, Luc Spyckerelle, Robert Williams and Harry Nesbitt Is there a place for temperate crops in Timor-Leste? 105 Brian Monaghan, Luísa Gonçalo1 and Luis Pereira Section 4: Reaching a food surplus 113 Strengthening agricultural markets to enhance food security in Timor-Leste 114 Shariful Islam, Syeda Samira Saif, James Maiden and Robert Raab Savings and loans schemes: a way forward for agricultural development in rural Timor-Leste? 122 Wayan Tambun, Jacinto Mala and Agustinho A. Ximenes The place of ceremonial observances in sustainable livelihoods of crop producers in Timor-Leste 128 Martin Browne, Luisa Goncalo, Anita Ximenes, Modesto Lopes and William Erskine Developing meteorological data systems for agricultural applications in Timor-Leste 135 Samuel Bacon, Florindo Morais Neto and José Quintão Amarál Gonçalves The impact of elevation on postharvest losses of maize in Timor-Leste 145 Acacio da Costa Guterres and Delfin da Costa Section 5: Communication of agricultural innovations 151 Agricultural extension in Timor-Leste: experiences of the Fourth Rural Development Program (RDP IV) 152 Dominik Langen Gender in crop production in Timor-Leste 158 Sonia Akter, William Erskine, Lucia Viana Branco, Octaviana Ferreira Agostinho, Julie Imron and Luc Spyckerelle Planting the idea: a comparison of channels to communicate food security innovations to farmers in Timor-Leste 165 Kate Bevitt, Yessy Octaviana, Januario Marcal de Araujo, Harry Nesbitt and William Erskine Training and capacity building in agriculture: potential contribution to food security in Timor-Leste 179 Buenafe R. Abdon, Robert T. Raab and Anibal da Costa 6 Welcome address It is my great pleasure to welcome you to TimorAg2016. Given the challenges associated with food security in our country and the work being done to improve the national food security situation, I believe that this is an opportune time for us to review and reflect on what has been done in this area and hopefully identify potential actions that we can apply to improve the well-being of the people of this country. As Minister of Agriculture, I know that strengthening Timor-Leste’s agricultural sector and increasing agricultural production is fundamental in this task. I am also fully aware that this alone will not be sufficient to achieve our goals. Increased production only addresses problems on the supply side. To really make a difference we also need to pay attention to such things as the distribution and accessibility of the food produced and ensuring that our population has the purchasing capacity to buy needed food in the market. This is why I am gratified to note that this conference provides a forum