DILI, 11 november 2022 (TATOLI) – German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoAF) celebrated the successful work of the Ai Ba Futuru – Partnership for Sustainable Agroforestry (PSAF) project, co-financed by the European Union (EU), and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented in partnership with MoAF.
The celebration of the success of the Ai Ba Futuru project was held at Suai Room, Timor Plaza with a public expo, to conclude the 5-year project in the country.
For the past five years, the Ai ba Futuru Project has been distributing tree seedlings to rural households in 40 villages in the four eastern municipalities – Baucau, Lautem, Manatuto, and Viqueque.
Over four million trees were distributed and planted in the four municipalities, involving 6,500 local farmers.
Farmers received a wide range of tree seedlings, including Sandalwood, Mahogany, Rambutan, Orange, Moringa, Teak, Coconut, Casuarina, Australian Red Cedar, and many more. In the future, these trees will provide timber wood, food, and animal feed to the local communities.
Tree seedlings were produced by community nurseries, Quinta Portugal nurseries, private nurseries, and MAoF nurseries.
The project helped promote agroforestry as a sustainable land use strategy that increases food security, as well as employment opportunities and incomes.
Frenqui Monteiro, the Value Chain Advisor for the Partnership for Sustainable Agroforestry – Ai ba Futuru project said that in addition to tree planting activities, agroforestry value chains were also developed.
“We can now witness the impressive success of the Ai Ba Futuru project. It is part of the collaboration of the various parties, including government officials, local authorities, forest guards, nursery managers, and farmers,” he said.
The implementation of the Ai Ba Futuru project was financed by the European Union with $13 million, and another €5 million was provided by BMZ-GIZ.
The National Director of Community Forestry Development, Mario Godinho said that the Timor-Leste government through MoAF would collaborate with farmers to take care of the planted trees in the four municipalities to ensure sustainable agriculture in the country.
“Agroforestry is a key to increasing the income of Timorese farmers as many would benefit from the outcome of the project in the future,” he said.
GIZ Country Coordinator, Rainer Schellhaas said that the Ai Ba Fururu project would promote sustainable agroforestry as a way to create employment and income in rural Timor-Leste and to address the challenges of climate change.
The Ai ba Futuru project had been implemented in the four eastern municipalities since 2017.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Filomeno Martins
