Horticulture Students Back In Timor With Fresh Ideas for Developing Industry After Training in Bali

Five Timorese students sent to Bali, Indonesia earlier to participate in an intensive horticultural training program sponsored by the USAID-funded Dezenvolve Setor Privadu (DSP) project have returned home ready to begin implementing new agricultural production and marketing techniques. The participants include four women--three of them from a production area in Aileu, and one representing a local horticulture business.

The students, selected for their background in horticultural work and commitment to community improvement, traveled to Bali in April 2007 to receive intensive, hands-on instruction in the growing and marketing of high-value vegetables. Four farmers/students attended an intensive three-month horticulture production training focusing on high-end vegetables in Bali, Indonesia. This training took place at Kintamani, at facilities operated by the Female Farmers of Balifresh. During this period, USAID’s DSP project also supported a targeted, two-week training in cold chain management and marketing for a Timorese vegetable wholesaler, as a part of the Balifresh instruction.

“DSP wanted to build on the successful partnership in Bali between growers and marketers, as a model for developing the horticulture industry of Timor in the coming years,” said Kurt Koomen, DSP’s Director of Agribusiness Services.

The students are committed to contributing to the development of the horticulture industry in Timor-Leste, and found the training in Bali useful for this purpose. “We want to set up a greenhouse and operate a farm in Timor that will become both a production facility and a training center,” according to Filomena Martins. USAID’s DSP project will support the development of the center in Lequitura, in Aileu district.

The most significant component of the program is the recognition of the importance of market linkages. “Without the market, the project will go nowhere. Responding to market demand by producing goods that the customer wants will generate much more income for all participants in the value chain,” DSP’s Agribusiness Team Leader Carlos dos Reis explained. He added: “Every month, Timor imports 35 tons of vegetables at a high cost. Timorese growers can meet the same quality standards and can capture that income.”

The ability to plan the production for a market and being able to grow products “out-of-season” is the key to replacing imports. “In Bali, we learned that meeting the specifications demanded by the customers is crucial for a sustainable, profitable business,” according to Komar Mendonca, a horticultural wholesaler who also studied marketing in Bali.

DSP is working with growers and a local wholesaler to establish a reliable supply of high-quality products in Timor-Leste’s local markets.