Manufahi 07 october 2022 (TATOLI) – Ambassador of the European Union to Timor-Leste, Marc Friedrich, UN Resident Coordinator, Roy Trivedy, the Director-General of Agriculture and Irrigation, Maria Odete Do Ceu Guterres, Representative of FAO, Paula Lopes da Cruz, and Manufahi Municipal Administrator, Arantes Isaac Sarmento, handed over 15 hand-tractors, rollers, and trailers, and three milling machines to farmer groups in Betano, Dotic, and Umaberloi village, in Manufahi municipality.
The machinery and equipment are to support the scaling up of conservation agriculture in Manufahi as well as supporting post-harvest processing of maize.
In his opening speech, the Municipal Administrator Sarmento welcomed the new EU Ambassador for Timor-Leste on his first visit to Manufahi and thanked the EU for supporting the conservation agriculture initiative through the ‘Pro[1]Resilience II’ project implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
“Farmers in Manufahi have enjoyed multiple benefits from conservation agriculture, including cost-saving for land preparation and weeding, soil fertilization, and increasing yield up to three times compared with using traditional farming practices,” said Mr. Sarmento. He also mentioned how the maize milling machines would benefit farmers by providing them value-addition and increasing their household income.
The European Union is a proud partner of Timor-Leste in both the field of agriculture and climate change adaptation and is committed to supporting farmers in efforts to become more resilient.
“This Conservation of Agriculture farmers group is tackling the gender equality issue. I hope that after receiving
the hand tractors, the conservation agriculture techniques will be more practiced and farmers will increase their maize yield and generate more income for the benefit of their family and community”, said the Ambassador, Marc Friedrich, at the handover ceremony, in Manufahi municipality on, thursday.
A total of 55 sets of hand tractors, rollers, and trailers were procured or produced in Timor-Leste to benefit project beneficiaries. The hand tractors were procured from Indonesia, while the rollers and trailers were manufactured locally by Dom Bosco and Bendix Workshop, using reverse engineering from similar equipment from China. The rollers and trailers were then tested in the field (Betano) for their quality and suitability prior to the handover to the farmers.
Farmer groups nominate 2 members to be trained on basic operation and maintenance of the equipment before they are handed over to them. The first fleet of 30 hand-tractors, rollers, and trailers was handed over in Betano on 28 July 2022.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
