Improving food security through agricultural research and development in Timor-Leste: a country emerging from conflict

Borges, Lourenco Fontes; Ferreira, Adalfredo do Rosario; Silva, Deolindo Da; Williams, Robert L.; Andersen, Rebecca; Dalley, A.; Monaghan, Brian J; Nesbitt, H.J.; Erskine, William

doi:10.1007/s12571-009-0037-8

Cited by 17 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Many introduced genotypes of maize, peanut, sweet potato, cassava and irrigated rice produced much higher yields than local cultivars or landraces, and some have proved quite acceptable to local growers and consumers. For each crop, several genotypes were broadly adapted with good yields across sites, a result confirmed by the high adoption rates of the varieties by participating farmers (Borges et al 2009). In order to select 'elite' genotypes for further evaluation on farms, a Farmer Participatory Research approach has been used since [2005][2006].…”

Section: Varietal Selection To Improve Crop Productivitymentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Since its inception, 'Seeds of Life' has been testing and introducing new genotypes of the major staple field crops: maize, rice, cassava, sweet potato and peanuts (Borges et al 2009 'Seeds of Life' has added mungbeans and temperate species such as, wheat, barley, potato and climbing bean Phaseolus spp. to the varieties being tested.…”

Section: Varietal Selection To Improve Crop Productivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Farmers are invited to field days on research stations at the time of harvest. Here, they evaluate all the genotypes trialled on-station using their own criteria, which can include yield, visual appearance, taste and other qualities (Borges et al 2009). Based on farmers' preference and yield performance, a small number of the elite genotypes of each food crop are then evaluated on farms.…”

Section: Varietal Selection To Improve Crop Productivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Climate Change and Population Growth in Timor Leste: Implications for Food Security

Molyneux

Cruz²,

Williams

et al. 2012

AMBIO

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The climate in Timor Leste (East Timor) is predicted to become about 1.5°C warmer and about 10 % wetter on average by 2050. By the same year, the population is expected to triple from 1 to 2.5-3 million. This article maps the predicted changes in temperature and rainfall and reviews the implications of climate change and population growth on agricultural systems. Improved cultivars of maize, rice, cassava, sweet potato and peanuts with high yield performance have been introduced, but these will need to be augmented in the future with better adapted cultivars and new crops, such as food and fodder legumes and new management practices. The requirements for fertilizers to boost yields and terracing and/or contour hedgerows to prevent soil erosion of steeply sloping terrain are discussed. Contour hedges can also be used for fodder for improved animal production to provide protein to reduce malnutrition.

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Section: Varietal Selection To Improve Crop Productivitymentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Varietal Selection To Improve Crop Productivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Varietal Selection To Improve Crop Productivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climate Change and Population Growth in Timor Leste: Implications for Food Security

Molyneux

Cruz²,

Williams

et al. 2012

AMBIO

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“…This is in contrast to many other studies, which have focused on technical barriers to food insecurity (see for example Molyneux et al, 2012;Borges et al, 2009). It also explores the concepts and principle of food sovereignty as a possible pathway to reimagining the current food system that can cater for all Timorese people currently and under climate change.…”

Section: Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In Timor-Leste, despite a long tradition of rice cultivation in some parts of the country (see Metzner, 1977;Fox, 1991Fox, , 2003bShepherd & McWilliams, 2013) and many reports and government documents (Borges et al, 2009;RDTL, 2011) that refer to rice as a staple food, rice has not always been a staple for all Timorese. A wide range of stories relayed during interviews in this study indicated that many people only started consuming rice during the Indonesian occupation, while others underscored that even today, at a heavily subsidised price, they cannot afford to have it as their main food type.…”

Section: Rice As Foreign Foodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food sovereignty: alternative policy for a sustainable national food system in Timor-Leste under climate change

Silva¹

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Globally, more than enough food is produced to feed the world's nine billion people (a figure that is expected to peak in 2050). Yet despite this, every year almost one billion people experience food insecurity. The consequences of food insecurity are set to be greatly exacerbated by climate change; circumstances that will be acutely experienced in developing countries, where the intersection of poverty and food insecurity is often concentrated. In this context, Timor-Leste, as one of the least developed countries (UN, 1998;IPCC, 2007;McMichael, 2008), will stand to suffer the earliest and the most detrimental impacts of climate change for food security, unless substantive mitigation and adaption actions are taken.With this as context, this thesis examines the impacts of agri-food development policies for food security in Timor-Leste. Through the adoption of a critical political economy perspective, this thesis undertakes an historical analysis of the causes of food insecurity. It then explores food sovereignty as a possible pathway for rebuilding the current food system, particularly in the context of climate change. This approach contributes to extending sociological understandings of, and responses to, food insecurity in Timor-Leste; representing a departure from many earlier studies, which have centrally focused upon technical barriers to food security.Methodologically, the thesis adopts a constructivist approach, accepting that different realities exist across multiple stakeholders engaged in the food and climate change nexus, and that truth or knowledge claims are both constructed and relative. The thesis undertakes a comparative case study approach, through the selection of cases across three villages in Timor-Leste. Data from these cases is augmented by interviews with additional stakeholders, including politicians, NGOs, academics and students. A total of 130 interviews were conducted in this study. This was complemented with document analysis, observation and a seminar.The results show that post-independence Timor-Leste has embraced a modernist techno-fix development pathway to food security. This is an-elite driven approach, rendering local people with very limited roles in determining priorities, and unable to shape the form or outcomes of policies and programs. These development pathways have delivered limited benefits to the poor and vulnerable, as well as further widening the gap between the poor and rich. Despite this, the current government is seeking to solve Timor-Leste's food security problems through continued agricultural modernisation and market liberalisation. This has ii resulted in significant negative consequences, including nutrition transition, dependency on imported white rice, and increased dependence on the state as a food and service provider.This thesis concludes by arguing that the root cause of food insecurity in Timor-Leste is an outcome of political failures that disempower at both macro and micro levels. Ensuring good governance-which is important to enable democrat...

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Adapting the Green Revolution for Laos

Williams

Cramb

2020

White Gold: The Commercialisation of Rice Farming in the Lower Mekong Basin

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Initial efforts to introduce new agricultural practices during Asia's 'Green Revolution' were derailed in Laos for a number of reasons: the impact of the Vietnam War; unrest associated with the seizure of power by the socialist government and proclamation of independence in 1975; an unsuccessful push to collectivise agricultural production; and limited investment in agricultural research or material support to collectives (Evans 1988). Faced with ongoing food shortages across the country, the government embraced agricultural modernisation as a central policy but lacked the resources to properly implement it. From 1990 to 2007, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Government of Laos built the nation's capacity in rice research and developed improved varieties suitable to Lao farming conditions.

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Improving food security through agricultural research and development in Timor-Leste: a country emerging from conflict

Abstract: Food security, Timor-Leste, Agricultural research, On-farm evaluation,

Cited by 17 publications

References 5 publications

Climate Change and Population Growth in Timor Leste: Implications for Food Security

Climate Change and Population Growth in Timor Leste: Implications for Food Security

Food sovereignty: alternative policy for a sustainable national food system in Timor-Leste under climate change

Adapting the Green Revolution for Laos

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