Government of Timor-Leste

The IV Constitutional Government has already defined a strategic plan for the national agriculture that guarantees, for the long term, the continuity of production development in a way that ensures the capacity to feed the population. The objective is to advance from subsistence agriculture to market agriculture. It is worth remembering that around 80 per cent of the Timorese population lives in rural areas, dedicating themselves to agriculture, which is the main economic activity in the country.

This plan includes the development of an agricultural industry, with produce processing, not only for internal consumption, but also for export. According to the Planning Director of the Secretariat of State of Agriculture and Arboriculture, Octávio de Almeida, “all this is already defined in the strategic plan. To have agricultural industries, we have to have infrastructure. We are going to create more conditions to make irrigation channels and also dams to irrigate the land. We also want to have rules for good agricultural practices to protect the soil”.

The agricultural and rural development policy, carried out by the Government, also intends to optimization several productions, where the cashew fruit, cacao, vanilla, coconut and the coffee, among others, stand out. The Secretariat of State of Agriculture and Arboriculture currently has in progress a set of support measures for the development of the coffee sector, since “coffee production is very important for the country and at this moment it is one of the main sources of income that contributes to the GNP in Timor-Leste”, concludes Octávio de Almeida.