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Paudel, S. Agroforestry: Opportunities and Challenges in Timor-Leste. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/19294 (accessed on 03 May 2024).
Paudel S. Agroforestry: Opportunities and Challenges in Timor-Leste. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/19294. Accessed May 03, 2024.
Paudel, Shyam. "Agroforestry: Opportunities and Challenges in Timor-Leste" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/19294 (accessed May 03, 2024).
Paudel, S. (2022, February 10). Agroforestry: Opportunities and Challenges in Timor-Leste. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/19294
Paudel, Shyam. "Agroforestry: Opportunities and Challenges in Timor-Leste." Encyclopedia. Web. 10 February, 2022.
Agroforestry: Opportunities and Challenges in Timor-Leste
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This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/f13010041

Agro forestry is a land management system that integrates trees, agriculture crops, and animal farming in order to provide a diverse range of ecosystem services. Timor-Leste, the newest country and one of the least developed countries, has faced multidimensional challenges on land use management, including deforestation, land degradation, and poverty. The agroforestry system is recognized as one of the viable options for balancing the socio-economic needs and ecological functions of the lands in Timor-Leste.

agroforestry Timor-Leste

1. Current and Proposed Initiatives

Finding agroforestry as a viable option to restore landscape, sustain agriculture, and provide multiple livelihood benefits, several initiatives on agroforestry have been commenced in Timor-Leste funded by different donors. The United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded projects on strengthening the community resilience along with the Dili to Anairo Road Development Corridor (DARDC) project, which was implemented from 2014 to 2019. The project aimed to build the resilience of watershed systems by improving natural resources management including forest, soil, and water in order to provide sustained ecosystem services to local communities. Agroforestry was considered as one of the key interventions to enhance ecosystem services [1]. The project introduced agroforestry systems in more than 200 ha of community land and introduced the Fukuoka system as a non-destructive and cost-effective way of plantation in hilly regions. Until 2018, 84.5 hectares of agroforestry had been completed. The UNDP worked closely with the National Directorate of Forestry within the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) to reduce potential risks from disaster alongside building the resiliency of local people through reforestation and agroforestry [1]. The project used tara bandu (a local land law) to facilitate the planning and implementation of agroforestry at the community level [1][2]. The activity involved the collaboration of local MAF extension officers and NGOs during implementation to support the replication and sustainability of the interventions [1][2]. MAF has already been working with local and international NGOs to implement and promote reforestation interventions such as the planting of firewood trees (e.g., Casuarina), establishment of Eucalyptus nurseries, and restoration of mangroves [3]. Similarly, the European Union (EU) and Government of Germany through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) (in German: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung) have co-financed the project “Partnership for Sustainable Agroforestry” (PSAF), which has been implemented with the support of MAF in Timor-Leste from 2017 to 2022. The project aims to support more than 4000 households from four municipalities (Manatuto, Baucau, Viqueque, and Lautem) to adopt agroforestry and afforestation practice. The project has included a range of species such as Mahogany (Swietenia spp.), Teak (Tectona grandis), Sandalwood (Santalum album), ai-saria (Cedrella toona), Leucaena (Leucaena spp.), Rosewood tree (Dysoxylum arborescens), Orange (Citrus sinensis), Snake fruit (Salacca edulis), Mango (Magnifera indica), and Cashew nut (Anarcadium occidentale). The objective of the project is to provide an opportunity to marginalized people, in particular young men and women in rural areas, to benefit from better employment opportunities in the agroforestry systems of Timor-Leste. Specifically, this project aims to increase the productivity of agroforestry systems, strengthen the capacity of actors along with selected agroforestry value chains, improve the market access for selected agroforestry products (e.g., fruits and vegetables, raw and processed wood products), and improve the institutional and organizational framework for the promotion of agroforestry [4].
Furthermore, as a component of PSAF, ERA-agroforestry (Enhancing Rural Access Agroforestry Project) is being implemented with the support of the EU, Germany, and the International Labor Organization (ILO). The objective of this project is to implement a capacity building and labor-based program to rehabilitate rural roads so as to improve access to agroforestry areas, employment, and economic opportunities for local population [5].
The Agriculture Development Bank (ADB) [6] has proposed an initiative on Innovative Partnerships for coffee and agroforestry development. The project envisaged that improvements in coffee production and processing offers one of the clearest pathways for reducing poverty and growing Timor-Leste’s non-oil economy. Coffee provides an important source of cash income for around 27.5% of Timorese households and is the largest non-oil export of the country [7]. However, the coffee sector is currently operating far below its long-term potential due to low and volatile production, inconsistent quality, and weak sector management. Strengthening sector management and providing targeted support to smallholder producers can generate sustained increases in household income. If implemented at scale, this could have a significant impact on the national poverty rate and growth of non-oil exports [7].
To help farmers defend their land ownership rights, adopt sustainable farming practices, and strengthen economic situations, an organization UNAER (Unian Agrikultor de Ermera) based in the Ermera municipality has been established in partnership with Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA [4]. With the support of this project, the farmers have grown a variety of alternative fruits including banana, papaya, lemon, mandarin, etc., in the non-coffee season and sold directly to buyers [8].

2. Key Challenges

Agriculture and natural resources are the main source of livelihood for rural communities [9]. About 75% of the total population face challenges of sustaining their livelihoods due to disaster risks, low food production, and lack of infrastructures [10]. Rural communities lack infrastructures such as water storage and irrigation facilities to increase their agriculture production and need to rely on rain-fed agriculture [11]. Unsustainable agricultural practice and the over-harvesting of natural resources are common in rural areas [12]. Deforestation, forest degradation, and the expansion of unsustainable subsistence farming are the major issues and the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the country [6]. Agroforestry could be one of the viable options for balancing the socio-economic needs and ecological functions of the land [13]. However, a lack of knowledge and experience on improved agroforestry system impedes the wider implantation of an agroforestry system in the country. The incompetency of the government in providing technical inputs to farmers at the local level has also restricted the development of agroforestry in Timor-Leste [14].
A lack of cash flow and financial access is another major hurdle for agroforestry practice [15]. Based on the UNDP project experience, communities were motivated for agroforestry if provided with cash incentives for planting trees (25 cents per plant) besides providing free seedlings. They also expected cash enticements for protection and taking care of the plants [16][17]. Some donor-funded projects have been providing such incentives to farmers, but the approach has been under debate regarding its sustainability. However, according to the ADB’s proposed project, assisting smallholder farmers to access formal financial services would enable them to build up savings and to access credit on more favorable terms [7]. This would complement and reinforce interventions to increase smallholder productivity.
Since 80% of the country is difficult to access due to a lack of good road networks, farmers have been facing challenges in selling their agricultural products [18]. The involvement of middlemen has delimited farmers from receiving fair prices for their agricultural products. This has demotivated farmers from investing in improved agricultural systems, including agroforestry practices [19]. Even though livestock forms one of the major sources of food and income for 80% of households in Timor-Leste, the current practice of allowing free grazing in the forest is a huge jeopardy for agroforestry [20][21]. Many agroforestry projects in past have faced this challenge and therefore failed to achieve their objective.
The major problems in developing agroforestry in Timor-Leste also include the lack of human resources and low level of education of formal institutions [22]. The agricultural extension services delivered by MAF staff and donor projects in Timor-Leste experienced difficulties because of the high expectations of landholders, lower education, lower trust in government, and poor skills among extension agents [23]. In addition, the lack of a proper agroforestry model as an alternative tool to improve community livelihood and improve the forest area and lack of legal forest management rights for communities are key challenges in developing the agroforestry in Timor-Leste [22].
Moreover, the unclear and complicated land tenure system of Timor-Leste has also discouraged private investors from investing in large-scale agroforestry [6][24]. There is still a great division between those who wish to exercise customary practices fully protected by law and those who wish to abolish customary rights and replace these by other forms of ownership that include state control and private property [25]. Reforming the law relating to land tenure is crucial for encouraging private investment for long terms.

3. Opportunities and Way Forward

The strategic development plan (SDP 2011–2030) of Timor-Leste has acknowledged the fact that the creation of local jobs through improved agriculture and natural resource management could be the best way to improve the livelihood of people living in rural areas [10]. Timor-Leste has an ample amount of land areas with suitable climate and soil to grow a wide range of valuable tropical trees in combination with agriculture. According to the ADB [6], around 32,500 hectares of suitable land that is not currently forested, protected or cultivated is available in Timor-Leste, which could be used for the large-scale implementation of agroforestry practices, which in turn would generate significant employment opportunities to 70% of its young population. There are opportunities to maximize the benefits by expanding the range of products from the agroforestry sector for the export market and natural resource restoration by developing community-based nurseries, training rural populations in agroforestry establishment.
The government of Timor-Leste is committed to protecting around 73% of land areas for the conservation of water resources, soil, and biodiversity by 2023, which includes 228,174.57 ha of dense forest cover, 278,999.19 ha of sparse forest cover, and 238,508.55 ha of non-forest areas [26]. Agroforestry could be one of the viable options for reversing land degradation. As Timor-Leste does not have a specific policy and strategy on agroforestry development., the country can learn a lot from its neighboring country Indonesia to develop and implement agroforestry strategy. Indonesia developed national strategy for agroforestry research (2013–2030) focusing on (i) smallholder production systems and markets, (ii) community-based forest management on state forest areas, (iii) the harmonization of agroforestry practices with global climate change, and (iv) enhancing agroforestry practices for environmental services [27]. Lessons from the adoption of agroforestry on state land in Indonesia, securing tenure right through agroforestry practice on state land, could be a reward of farmers to make the land more sustainable [28]. Timor-Leste can also learn from other regions such as planting trees and shrubs as nitrogen-fixing green fertilizers to increase average maize yields and to stabilize crop production in drought years and during other extreme weather events in southern Africa [29]. The Malawi Agroforestry Food Security Program is also a good example where improved green fertilizer technologies increased maize yields [30]. Timor-Leste also needs to prioritize diversification of the agriculture sector through a planned agroforestry system by planting high-value trees including sandalwood and teak, and non-timber products, such as bamboo, cocoa, coconuts, spices, coffee, perennial fruits, nuts, and animal fodder, integrated with livestock developments, need to be prioritized in MAF’s strategy. Land tenure issues should be addressed to ensure maximum benefits for smallholders and to support the development of accessible agroforestry inputs by liaising with the private sector. A mixed agroforestry model for diversification would provide rural households to expand their sources of food and income and build their resiliency to climate change [31].
The current initiatives on agroforestry from different donor-funded projects have provided opportunities to learn skills and engage communities in the agroforestry system [4][8]. There is already a system-wide realization that agroforestry would be a viable option to build watershed resiliency and diversify income from agriculture and forestry. Furthermore, the government of Timor-Leste has intended to increase the number of national fisheries and aquaculture programs to sustainably improve livelihoods. With the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the government has expected to improve the livelihood of local people and build the capacity of fisherfolks and their supporting institutions, thus providing a huge opportunity for the development of silvo-aquaculture [32].

References

  1. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Strengthening Community Resilience to Climate-Induced Disasters in the Dili to Ainaro Road Development Corridor. 2019. Available online: https://www.tl.undp.org/content/timor_leste/en/home/all-projects/DARDC.html (accessed on 2 March 2021).
  2. The Asia Foundation. Tara Bandu: Its Role and Use in Community Conflict Prevention in Timor-Leste. Belun. 2013. Available online: https://asiafoundation.org/resources/pdfs/TaraBanduPolicyBriefENG.pdf (accessed on 28 January 2021).
  3. World Vision International. Planting Trees to Re-Green Timor-Leste. 2019. Available online: https://www.wvi.org/timor-leste/article/planting-trees-re-green-timor-leste (accessed on 28 January 2021).
  4. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Ai ba Futuru-Partnership for Sustainable Agroforestry. 2020. Available online: https://www.giz.de/en/downloads/giz2020_en_PSAF_Factsheet.pdf (accessed on 10 March 2021).
  5. International Labour Organization (ILO). Enhancing Rural Access Agroforestry Project (ERA Agro-forestry). 2019. Available online: https://www.ilo.org/jakarta/whatwedo/projects/WCMS_553152/lang--en/index.htm (accessed on 17 February 2021).
  6. Asian Development Bank (ADB). Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2019: Strengthening Disaster Resilience; ADB: Manila, Philippines, 2019.
  7. Asian Development Bank (ADB). Timor-Leste: Innovative Partnership for Coffee and Agroforestry Development. Concept paper. 2018. Available online: https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/project-documents/51396/51396-001-cp-en.pdf (accessed on 15 March 2021).
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  13. Gangadharappa, N.R.; Shivamurthy, M.; Ganesamoorthi, S. Agroforestry–A viable alternative for social, economic and ecological sustainability. In Proceedings of the XII World Agroforestry Congress, Quebec, QC, Canada, 21–28 September 2003.
  14. National Action Programme. Timor-Leste National Action Programme to Combat Land Degradation. 2008. Available online: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/cplpunccd/Biblioteca/bib_TL_/Timor-Leste_NAP_Revised_Draft.pdf (accessed on 3 March 2021).
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  19. Lundahl, M.; Sjöholm, F. Improving the Lot of the Farmer: Development Challenges in Timor-Leste during the Second Decade of Independence. Asian Econ. Pap. 2013, 12, 71–96.
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  22. da Silva, F.; Dassir, M.; Mujetahid, M.; Nadirah, S. Collaboration Based Agroforestry Development Strategy in Laubonu Village, Atsabe Subdistrict, District Ermera, Timor Leste. Adv. Environ. Biol. 2019, 13, 10–16.
  23. Reid, R. Developing farmer and community capacity in Agroforestry: Is the Australian Master TreeGrower program transferable to other countries? Agrofor. Syst. 2017, 91, 847–865.
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  26. Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF). Final Country Report of the Land Degradation neutrality Target Setting Programme in Timor-Leste. 2018. Available online: https://knowledge.unccd.int/sites/default/files/ldn_targets/2019-01/Timor-Leste%20LDN%20TSP%20Country%20Report.pdf (accessed on 21 February 2021).
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