Status of research-extension linkages in Timor-Leste

Mr. Mariano Fernando Xavier Malik of the Timor-Leste Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) sketched the situation in his young nation where some 80 per cent of the 1.2 million people rely on agriculture, which accounts for about 30 per cent of the country’s non-oil GDP, with coffee as a main export crop.

Low productivity, pests, and post-harvest losses are challenges and the services provided by the extension system, established only in 2010, face budgetary constraints as well as limited staff technical capacity.

The MAF is reorienting research and extension services towards nutrition-rich crops and Mr. Malik saw as a key challenge, the development and promotion of technologies, e.g. for fertilization and soil cultivation, that are suitable for local farmers. Better connections are needed between research and extension, which should be more firmly based in the experiences and feedback of farmers. Recent MAF reorganization measures are promising.