Sustainable Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project

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The development objective of the Sustainable Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project for Timor-Leste is to increase the productivity and marketed production of smallholder agriculture in selected geographical locations in Timor-Leste. The project comprises of six components. The first component, integrated watershed and sub-watershed agriculture development planning objective is to improve agriculture development planning within targeted watersheds. It consists of following sub-components: (i) formation and strengthening of watershed and sub-watershed management councils (WSMCs); (ii) support for the preparation of watershed and sub-watershed agricultural development plans (WADPs); and (iii) support for the preparation of sustainable community agriculture development plans (SCADPs). The second component, smallholder organization, advisory support, and training will facilitate the formation of farmer groups where needed, building on cohesion developed during the SCADP preparation process, and strengthen existing groups formed for other purposes by non-government organization (NGOs) and other relevant programs. It consists of following sub-components: (i) facilitation of the identification, assessment and formation of farmer groups; and (ii) support for farmer group development and capacity building. The third component, sustainable watershed and sub-watershed management and support to farmer group’s objective is to support the implementation of SCADPs through the provision of targeted on-farm investments. It consists of following sub-components: (i) rapid roll out of post-harvest storage and processing technology for grains; (ii) support to farmer groups for production, storage, and processing facilities; and (iii) technologies and small-scale works for sustainable watershed and sub-watershed management. The fourth component, strengthening Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF’s) services, planning, programming, coordination and monitoring and evaluation (M and E) functions will support MAF to strengthen institutional capacity following recent organizational changes. It consists of following sub-components: (i) institutional support; and (ii) development of MAF’s M and E system. The fifth component, project management and monitoring will coordinate the implementation of all development partner-financed projects and programs in the agricultural sector. The sixth component, contingency for disaster risk response will be used in the event that an emergency response is required.