DILI, 27 july 2022 (TATOLI) – The Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Rajendra Aryal said FAO is committed to working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoAF) in the agricultural sector to help Timor-Leste become a food-self-sufficient country.
“FAO and Timor-Leste need to invest and work together in the agricultural sector to help Timor-Leste towards food self-reliance,” Aryal made the comments after meeting President Horta at the Presidential Palace, today.
He said FAO has been working very closely with the government of Timor-Leste, under the leadership of the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoAF), Pedro dos Reis: “We are working together in the sectors of crop production, forestry (fire prevention and control), fisheries (inland capture fisheries, and marine fisheries) food security, and food diversification.”
“We are also providing technical support policy guidelines and advocacy on different technical matters related to food and agriculture. At the moment we are working on climate change adaptation for agricultural cropping systems. Therefore, in our meeting, we touched upon the impacts of climate and how they can be mitigated and adapted for the benefit of the farmers.”
He said they also talked about how FAO can work together with MoAF to mobilize the knowledge and expertise to work for the benefit of the farmers in the country.
“One important thing that I would like to tell is having seen the impact of the conflict in Ukraine. Thus, it’s extremely important for us to focus our efforts on boosting local production. You know that many countries are hit hard by this conflict, especially on importing expensive food, fuel, and fertilizers. So far, Timor-Leste has not been affected that much hard by the war but it is important for us to invest more in agriculture to increase the local food production towards food self-sufficiency,” he explained.
Aryal said president Horta was very concerned about food self-sufficiency and malnutrition: “So, I think, my impression is that the President will be very much willing to see the country’s progress towards becoming food self-sufficient and the eradication of poverty and malnutrition in Timor-Leste.”
“At the moment, our portfolio is about US$25 million between 2022 and 2025. We will convince more international partners to invest more in the agricultural sector,” he concluded.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
