In the effort to expand Timor-Leste's economic activity and raise incomes for its farming families, the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) supports the work of the Union of Coffee Cooperatives of Timor (UCCT), the country's largest cooperative organization. UCCT and its sister cooperatives have more than 20,000 member families. Many of them grow coffee, the country's most valuable export, but NCBA has helped UCCT diversify its members' economic base with high-value alternatives, including vanilla bean production and cattle fattening.

As USAID's implementing partner, NCBA launched its economic growth project in 2000. The Timor Economic Rehabilitation and Development Project focused initially on improving the vital coffee crop and providing basic health care for UCCT members. Since then, UCCT has also been able to open a training academy for coffee growers and other farmers, provide ongoing business training to budding entrepreneurs, develop an export market for high-quality vanilla beans, and open trade links with neighboring Indonesia to sell cattle in West Timor.

Almost 3,000 farm families now produce vanilla beans for the international market. The 130,000 host trees and vanilla seedlings that farmers have planted since 2000 are now bearing high-quality--and therefore high-value--fruit. More than 90% of the crop has achieved "grade one" classification, attracting some of the world's largest buyers. Timor-Leste vanilla is often used in premium extracts and ice creams.

UCCT's cattle fattening activities have also expanded. From the 75 families taking part in the 2003 pilot, the project now involves 500 families in four districts. The project uses Bali cattle, specially suited to the climate and to the zero-grazing techniques that makes the project so popular with communities. Participating families build special enclosures for the cattle and bring fodder to them. By confining the cattle, communities gain valuable time and resources otherwise spent in building and maintaining fences around their crops and gardens. High demand for the fattened cattle in Indonesian West Timor has prompted the governments of the two countries to open a second official border crossing for cattle exports.

Coffee remains the mainstay of Timor-Leste exports, totaling $7m in 2004. NCBA's assistance to UCCT has resulted in significantly improved global market opportunities for the coffee crop. In addition to its consistent high quality, UCCT coffee has earned organic and FairTrade certifications. On the specialty coffee market, this means that UCCT coffee commands a higher price than the typical grade of coffee sold by other Timor-Leste producers. UCCT is also the country's largest private-sector employer. During the coffee harvest and processing season, UCCT employs 3,500 people, about half of whom are women. One of the largest buyers of UCCT coffee is Starbucks. UCCT coffee features in Starbucks' Arabian Mocha Timor blend, sold around the world. Based on the success of USAID's start-up support, UCCT has now moved to a self-sustaining business model for its coffee production and export activities.

NCBA has been a key partner in USAID's efforts to help Timor-Leste diversify and increase agricultural production and expand domestic and international markets for its products.