Since gaining independence in 2002, Timor-Leste has made significant gains in peacebuilding, governance, and infrastructure with goals to achieve upper-middle income status by 2030 as laid out in its Strategy Development Plan (SDP) for 2011-2030, which places agriculture at its core. However, challenges in Timor-Leste persist, particularly with food security.

The Ministry for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Forestry (MALFF) has developed its own goal under the national SDP to “improve national food security, reduce rural poverty, support the transition from subsistence livelihoods to the commercial production of food crops, livestock, fisheries, forestry and industrial crops; and promote environmental sustainability and conservation of Timor-Leste’s natural resources.”

Under the project TCP/TIM/390, FAO developed a national assessment report compiling indicators for rice production and value chains and a detailed strategy for strengthening the rice industry for MALFF. To further support the goals of MALFF and strengthen the technical capacity of staff there to conduct remote-sensing-based rice mapping and crop water productivity analyses, FAO has hired FutureWater to develop a remote-sensing-based rice mapping and crop water productivity analysis for national GIS/statistics specialists at MALFF, focusing on two priority irrigation schemes (Bebui and Oebaba). This analysis meets MALFF’s immediate needs on assessing rice area and productivity, and FutureWater will also support MALFF in building capacity to undertake these analyses themselves by developing a step-by-step guide on conducting a crop water productivity assessment.