E-GEOS (IT)
EO Clinic support requested by: Asian Development Bank (ADB), Timor-Leste Resident Mission (TLRM)
Requesting activity: Coffee and Agroforestry Livelihood Improvement Project
Requesting activity type: Technical Assistance (TA)
EO Clinic relevant Thematic Groups: TG1 (Agriculture)
Work Order number: EOC0002
Work Order status: Completed
Work Order start: 2019 Jul 01
Work Order end: 2019 Sep 12
Improvements in coffee production and processing offer one of the clearest pathways for poverty reduction and growth of the non-oil economy in Timor-Leste. Coffee is Timor-Leste’s largest non-oil export and is grown by an estimated 37.6% of all Timorese households. Approximately 52,000 hectares are planted with coffee but it is reported that more than half of the planted area consists of unproductive old trees. As a result, yields are low, with an average yield of 150–200 kg of green beans per ha. This is only 21% of the average yield in Southeast Asia and 10% of the yield achieved by productive plantations.
Relatively simple practices including replanting, pruning and improved farm management have been shown to triple the yield per unit area for a typical household and raise households’ net income from coffee production by a factor of 2.7.
It is also widely recognized that Timor-Leste has the potential to sell an increasing share of its coffee production to differentiated specialty markets that pay price premiums relating to quality, origin, production processes and environmental sustainability. Achieving this potential re-quires careful processing and handling of coffee as it moves through the value chain from coffee farms to final consumers in the domestic or international market. Several development partners have been supporting farm rehabilitation and quality improvements by providing grant funds to individual cooperatives and NGOs or by providing assistance to the government. There has been good progress in farm some areas but serious challenges remain. This request for support is meant to provide better geospatial data to design the development coffee industry.
Information is needed on the location, extent and state of the coffee plantations, as well as patterns in land use change related to (and affecting) coffee plantations.
