Seed Project Update – July 2009


Laclubar:

Mana Elvira and Sr. Anacletus have started a small seed bank. Anacletus is a school teacher in Orlalan who has been working with the groups participating in the sub-district of Laclubar. He is from Oecussi and has married into one of the local clans. He was trained in advanced agricultural and horticultural techniques during the Indonesian period. He runs a small nursery at his house, which is just below the main water supply point in Dirikun. Anacletus has been grafting citrus trees for international NGOs such as CARE, and several UN agencies who have conducted projects in the Laclubar back in 2003 through 2006. Anacletus has been planting apples from seed, in the absence of any ongoing support from any of these agencies.

Mana Elvira, Anacletus and others have requested assistance to develop a work plan to support their farming and seed banking activities. They need help in planning seed production, and in packaging and sales of seed. They have the advantage that they are centrally located within the sub-district close to the main village marketplace, schools and water. They were also the first participants in the project and have been the ongoing point of contact for all other participating groups. They require some planning assistance in relation to planting schedules, and to guide the isolation of specific varieties in separate garden plots to avoid unwanted cross fertilisation. They will be able to co-ordinate production with the other participating groups in Laclubar. They will need access to air-tight storage containers which are relatively expensive in Timor-Leste at present, and also in relatively short supply in Dili. In the short term we can commence a collection of resealable glass jars which can be shipped up to Laclubar.

Mana Elvira, Anacletus and others would also like to try growing some wheat and potatoes, newly introduced and tested higher yielding varieties of corn and also mung and soya beans. There were plans for wheat to be trialled in Laclubar at the former agricultural school in 1997/9, but this initiative was disrupted by the referendum in 1999 and the Indonesian regime's withdrawal. Seeds of Life (an AusAID supported program within the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries) can provide access to the higher yielding varieties of sweet potatoes, pulses, corn and other grains (we can also access wheat, sorghum and possibly oats, millet and barley from families who still grow these crops in this geographically isolated part of the country. This would require an extended trip to Oecussi in order to travel house to house requesting seed for multiplication. The Sub-district Administrator from Oesilo in the Oecussi enclave has invited us to visit and has agreed to facilitate this seed collection, on the basis that we would also extend the project to work with them in Oecussi. There is a long-term history of inter-marriage links between families/clans in Laclubar and the Oecussi enclave.

There is still no effective agricultural extension work taking place in Laclubar, the various NGO and UN agency projects that were undertaken in Laclubar in past years, have not resulted in ongoing development, and the access road is still in very poor condition. The government has planned expenditure over the next two years on roads and other infrastrucutre that should address the access issue. This will enable better access to markets, once completed.


Maubisse/Horaiki'ik:

Batista has opened the ground on the lowest portion of his land. This part has not been farmed for several years. he has requested assistance to access some seed from the new corn varieties that the Seeds of Life program has been testing. He would also like assistance to get some disease resistant potato seed.

The company Zero Star which has been working with support from the USAID funded program has its base in Hatuberliku. They drive past Batista's farm regularly and have a small truck with a chiller unit on the back. It seems like a good idea to introduce Zero Star to Batista so that they can purchase his vegetables, as they are shipping weekly to Dili. Our restaurant, Motion, in Dili could purchase a portion of Batista's produce through this mechanism, and this would guarantee a fresher product arriving in Dili.

Batista and his wife Marta have expressed interest in setting up a road-side stall, and they need some help to make a sign, and to determine pricing in keeping with the real value of the vegetables they are growing.

They are also keen to create a space for overnight visitors, and to serve coffee and fresh cooked meals “direct from the field”. They have three rooms that could have the walls rendered and the floor tiled for overnight visitors. They will need several mattresses and bedding. It would be useful to provide beds also. They would be happy to accept a small-loan and repay from the income from overnight stays, vegetables, food and coffee sales.

What is proposed a simple bed and breakfast operation, a road-side stall for vegetables and a road-side cafe. The project has funds from SETRA in Seattle which will be used for this purpose.

Batista and Marta can work with other families in their aldeia and also in Hatuberliku where Batista's older sister lives. Like Mana Elvira and Anacletus in Laclubar they need assistance with seed banking. Batista and Marta's market garden site is in an excellent location on the main road, and presents a go0d opportunity for ongoing development as a demonstration plot. This was one of the reasons for deciding to work with them in the first place. Batista and his family have continued to practice some of the new techniques they learned from the Permatil trainers in Permaculture, but it appears that the quality of training was not as good as had been hoped and there is a need to provide more of an agricultural extension service to Batista and other families nearby.

It would be ideal to employ Hermenegildo Gomes (Gil who visited Madison as part of the Madison Ainara Sister-city Alliance – MASA) from Ainaro to work with Batista's family and other groups in Maubisse and Hatuberliku as well as the groups he and his local NGO already work with in Ainaro itself. Gil will require training in planning seed production, support for work-planning across a range of groups and financial support for transport and materials. The main requirement will be for air-tight containers for seed. It would be ideal if the project had the funds to engage Gil and his NGO for an extended period, ideally three years, on a part time basis.

CARE have recently begun introducing hand-driven corn shellers and grinders to reduce women's labour in corn production in the upland farming areas of the districts of Covalima (Suai) and Maliana (Bobonaro). These machines are relatively cheap in Indonesia (around USD$50.00, but they are heavy (30kg) and air-freight is costly, (about USD$3.30 per kilo). These are supplied to farming families participating in their program together with 200L drums for the storage of the newer higher yielding varieties of corn. Losses of corn and rice due to weavils and rats are around 30%. There are two varieties of corn which have been introduced, and of these, Lele has shown increased yields of 61% in areas similar to where we are working in Ainaro and Laclubar. This increase coupled with cutting out the 30% losses occurring during storage is of great benefit to farmers. The grinders are useful for the preparation of poultry and pig feed and enable a three to four fold increase in labour efficiency.

Hector has recently had discussions with the Ministry of Agriculture's Seeds of Life program in relation to gaining access to the new varieties of corn they have trialled, along with new varieties of other grains, legumes and sweet potatoes, and they have agreed to provide modest amounts of planting materials. There will be a need for Gil and Batista to receive training in improved cultivation methods, IPM as well as to support them in seed multiplication planning. It appears that this maybe possible through facilitating links to the Seeds of Life extension officer who lives between Horaiki'ik and Ainaro.

Current cycle of the project:

At present work in both sub-districts is finally at the stage where participants are expressing a desire to learn seed multiplication techniques and would like to run their own seed banks. In both locations, there is a strong demand for pure seed. At present most farmers must purchase seed from the agricultural supply stores in Dili and the only varieties available are F1 Hybrids (sourced from Indonesia, Malaysia and to a limited extent from Thailand. The varieties trialled have all proved suitable for the higher elevations and better soils and rainfall in Laclubar and Maubisse/Ainaro. Demand for seed is such that local farmers could afford to buy them once available locally. It is likely that the prices can be set below that of imported seeds.

All varieties used are open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties which can be multiplied relatively easily. Support is needed to ensure that there is sufficient planning to avoid unwanted cross-fertilisation. In both locations, there are sufficient numbers of isolated plots available to plan a program for multiplication. Unfortunately because of the constant day length at the equator, some of the most useful, productive, and marketable vegetables are unlikely to set seed. the Silver-beet at Batista's place is nearing two years of age, and we are all waiting to see if they will flower. Given the photoperiodism of some biennial plants, and based on the experience of others working in equatorial highlands, it may be that the Silver-beet will not flower. If they have not flowered by Xmas, then it is unlikely they will. In the meantime, they continue to be extremely productive plants. Batista and his wife have made a good living selling vegetables to our restaurant in Dili, primarily Silverbeet, Rocket and new varieties of coloured Lettuces along with Carrots and French Beans. These and their income from coffee sales from last year enabled them to build a new kitchen in the traditional style of buildings in Maubisse.

Funds raised in this next cycle will be directed towards:

•  purchasing of air-tight containers for vegetable seed storage,
• purchasing 200L drums for corn/legume storage,
• purchasing corn shelling and grinding machines, and 
• in supporting co-ordination, planning and training needs in relation to seed multiplication needs.

The project would benefit from:

• agricultural interns who could work on seed multiplication and breeding
• introduction of a range of virus free disease resistant varieties of potatoes
• support for the purchase of three motorbikes (one for Anacletus in Lacluber, one for Hermengildo in Ainaro, and one for use in Dili)
• a grant or other finance to facilitate training for Hermengildo, Anacletus and others in relation to seed multiplication and crops that they are unfamiliar with such as wheat, sorghum, millet, barley, oats (but which were grown in Timor-Leste quite widely until the Indonesian government began introducing distributions of cheap rice to the population during the early eighties to address food security issues and it appears deliberately to destroy the traditional multi-crop subsistence farming systems)
• preparation and translation into Tetum of materials to guide seed saving, multiplication and breeding activities from existing materials already available in English and Bahasa Indonesia

The project continues to run with only the most minimal of overheads, and the strategy of minimal interventions (primarily the distribution of seeds, basic tools and hoses) has been very successful. In recent discussions with Seeds of Life it is clear that they have adopted a similar approach, providing primarily seeds to farmers, and letting them do the rest, with only the most minimal extension work being undertaking to support uptake of some improvements to cultivation and cropping techniques relating to the new varieties they are introducing. Seeds of Life's core aims are to increase food production and food sovereignty. It is hoped that we can work more closely with them in the future.

Crop protection is a critical issue in Timor-Leste as losses due to insect attacks and disease are extremely high and there is fortunately as yet only a very small amount of chemical pesticide usage. IPM and SRI techniques are being promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF). It would be ideal if we could bring a crop protection specialist whose experience is grounded in organic approaches to agriculture to Timor-Leste to work with our project, international and local NGO programs in organic agriculture and also with MAF.

So far the project has avoided expenditure on administration and management, which costs have mostly been born by Hector and Colleen. It appears that it may be time to seek funding to be able to expand the project's activities into other locations. After recent visit to Madison and discussions with Family Farm Defenders, it is hoped that we can increase our working relationship, and also look to replicate the project in other countries. The cost efficiency of our approach, minimalist interventions and the promotion of self-reliance rather than aid-dependency may well recommend what we are doing to international donors.

If you are interested in supporting the project, please contact:

Hector Hill (+670-7297567) hextopia@hotmail.com
Colleen Coy colleen@justcoffee.coop

or you can:

1. Drop off or send seeds, cash, or checks to:
JUST COFFEE
C/O Seed Project (Colleen Coy)
1129 East Wilson Street
Madison, WI 53703 USA

2. Make your donation to be tax-deductible by mailing your check, with 'SEED PROJECT' in the memo line to:
FAMILY FARM DEFENDERS
C/O Seed Project
P.O. Box 1772
MADISON, WI 53701 USA