Agriculture
HELP break the cycle of poverty
In Timor Leste, the minimum daily average wage is less than $4 and the cycle of poverty is strong. There is little employment opportunities for many outside the agricultural sector. 20% of Timor-Leste’s population is considered food insecure and it’s common that households experience ‘hungry months’ before crops are harvested. Many rural families only eat one or two meals a day with women often prioritising their children’s food over their own. The rate of malnutrition in Timor-Leste is alarming with 50% of children under five years of age experiencing stunting of their growth and development. In Viqueque alone, only 23% of young children meet minimum dietary diversity standards.
Some of the biggest tools to fight poverty come from the simplest solutions—training, loans, seeds, animals, and access to marketplaces. Helping someone provide for themselves provides change that will last a lifetime and effects that can be seen for generations.
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Did you Know?
Empowerment is the best lesson you can teach someone. If you give a man a fish, you feed him for one day. But if you teach a man to fish, he will be able to feed himself for a lifetime.
Here are some of the ways that ADRA is helping families increase incomes and livelihood opportunities in Timor-Leste:
– Grow the rural economy through market-oriented agro-enterprise’s
– Connect smallholder farmers to value chains
– Increase yields, sales and cash reserves
– Provide primary products such as ginger, coconut and candle nut
– Building kitchen gardens and conservation agriculture
– Hands on training in agricultural practices
– Establish savings groups
OUR PROJECTS
SHAPE-CAR
The SHAPE-CAR (Sustainable Health, Agriculture, Protection & Empowerment – Climate Action for Resilience) project is implemented by ADRA Timor-Leste in Viqueque Municipality, with funding from New Zealand MFAT and support from ADRA New Zealand. The project aims to strengthen rural communities, making them healthier, more resilient, and economically empowered.
The project enhances value chains by improving inclusivity, efficiency, quality, and sustainability, and builds community skills in financial literacy, enterprise management, resilient agriculture, and post-harvest processing. It also supports sustainable management of water and natural resources, establishes community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) committees and action plans, and coaches local leaders to advance inclusive livelihoods and women’s empowerment.
In addition, SHAPE-CAR includes microprogram activities such as tree planting, water conservation, community water systems, and smart agriculture, helping communities adapt to climate change and build environmental sustainability for the long term.
SHAPE
SHAPE (Sustainable Health, Agriculture, Protection & Empowerment) is an 8-year program funded by the New Zealand Government (NZD 4.36 million) and implemented by ADRA Timor-Leste in partnership with the Government of Timor-Leste, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Forestry (MALFF), and private sector partners. Building on the success of the FARMAR Project (2018–2021), SHAPE (2021–2026) aims to support healthier and more resilient rural communities.
The program is implemented in Viqueque Municipality and focuses on three key areas: Protection & Empowerment: Strengthening leadership, inclusion, and economic participation of women and people with disabilities. Sustainable Agriculture: Promoting climate-resilient farming, agroforestry, and value-added post-harvest processing. Inclusive Value Chains: Supporting cooperatives, savings groups, and market systems to improve income and access to markets.
PAST PROJECTS
FarMar
The ‘Viqueque Sustainable Agroenterprises Farmers to Markets’ (FarMar) project will run from June 2018 to May 2023 working with 1,500 farming households in rural areas of the south-east. FarMar is funded by MFAT and ADRA New Zealand with a total budget of $2,100,000 USD.
The project goal is to grow the rural economy through market-orientated agro-enterprise and improve food security by aiming to connect smallholder farmers to identified value chains; increase yields, sales and cash reserves; and improve overall family well-being. The project will focus on three primary products: ginger, coconut, and candle nut. Through project activities, it is expected that markets will be better supplied, value chains strengthened, food security increased, and trade deficits reduced.
HAHAN
The ‘Hamutuk Hadiak Nutrisaun Familia’ (HAHAN) project supported by AusAID and ADRA Australia will run from July 2019 to June 2022. The HAHAN project is targeting 1,850 people with a total budget of $400,000 USD.
The goal of the project is to increase family wellbeing and to contribute to food production with the purpose of improving family nutrition and to create opportunities for increasing income of families by marketing their excess produce.
HAHAN will provide families access to water and training in vegetable and chicken production, along with health messaging to help improve families’ health and nutrition.
PAST PROJECTS
LOSA
The ‘Livelihood Opportunities through Sustainable Agriculture’ (LOSA) project aimed to improve the wellbeing and resilience for agriculture-based communities in Viqueque Municipality by empowering farmers to manage their own resources sustainably and improve the wellbeing of vulnerable communities. The LOSA project ran for 3 years based in Luca and Uma Tolu. The primary activities included drilling and installing 17 bore wells and providing pumps, built 10 kitchen gardens, trained 98 farmers and 100 students in growing fruit and vegetables, trained 600 farmers in conservation agriculture methods, built 111 latrines, created 8 savings and loans groups and provided nutrition training to benefit 1,138 community members and 924 students.
NEWS
Field Day: Ginger Candy Innovation
In the remote village of Data-Metan, Uma-Tolu suco, most families
From Seed to Strength in Dilor
In Dilor, Viqueque Municipality, one family turned a small start
International Rural Womens Day 2022
The 15th of October 2022 is the celebration of International Rural Women’s Day. In Timor-Leste, we celebrate this international day with the national theme “Promoting Value Chain to Ensure Rural Women’s Products for Sustainability of Family Economic.”