DILI, 01 september 2022 (TATOLI) – The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoAF), today, held a farewell ceremony with a total of 122 young Timorese who will be traveling to Israel on friday (02/09) to undertake training on advanced agriculture.
The 122 young Timorese were made up of 77 males and 45 females who will be studying agriculture and horticulture at Arava International Center for Agriculture Training (AICAT).
These young people were selected from different higher institutions in Timor-Leste, including the National University of Timor-Leste (UNTL), East Timor Coffee Institute (ETCI), and the Institute of Polytechnic Betano (IPB).
During the 11-month training, these young people will learn advanced agriculture farming.
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Pedro dos Reis advised the 122 people to take the advantage of the opportunity to learn new knowledge and skills to be implemented in Timor-Leste.
“You are the sixth intake of the AICAT program. I believe that you will learn new skills to develop our agricultural sector,” Reis made the comments at the farewell ceremony, held at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoAF), in Dili, on thursday.
Reis emphasized that out of the 80.000 hectares of fertile land in Timor-Leste, only 30.000 hectares are being cultivated: “Therefore, your role is to develop our agricultural sector in the future by utilizing the uncultivated land to improve our agricultural productivity.”
“Israel government actually requires 200 students every year. So, hopefully, this number will be increased in the next intake,” said Reis.
Agostinho da Silva, a recipient of the program from Aileu municipality expressed his feeling of joy to receive the opportunity.
“Aileu is one of the municipalities in Timor-Leste that has fertile land for horticulture. Therefore, I will put my knowledge and skills into practice after returning from Israel,” he said.
Agostinho da Silva’s brother, Flavio da Silva called on 122 young Timorese to use the opportunity wisely.
“This opportunity may only come once in a lifetime. Therefore, as a brother, I want them to learn as much as they could during the 11-month training in Israel. So that, when they come back to Timor-Leste, at least they have something to offer to this country,” said Flavio Silva.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
