In the small village of Betano, nestled in the lush landscapes of central Timor-Leste, women have succeeded to enriching the soil and feeding the schools children by “Lehe” or the green velvet beans.
In 2019, when the women in the village became interested in piloting climate-smart agriculture techniques, and in particular conservation agriculture, which were being promoted in the area by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Green velvet beans
Following FAO’s advice, the women wanted to try mulching the fields with green velvet beans, a type of local vine known to replenish soil nutrients. The men were skeptical, but the women understood the importance of enriching the soil, according a report seen by “Food & Climate” platform.
With financial support from the European Union, FAO assisted the women in setting up their own farmers’ group, which they named Fehama (meaning “Women Loving Each Other” in the local Tetum language). FAO also provided them with hand-held tractors, trailers, storage silos and other farming tools.
Together with other farmers’ groups, they began to grow corn, leafy vegetables, papaya, cassava and bananas in their newly mulched land.
“We realized that by following FAO guidance, our productivity could progress further,” said Prisca da Costa, a founding member of Fehama.
With the women now firmly on the path of climate-smart agriculture, FAO, with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), provided further assistance to Fehama by way of technical support and training on conservation agriculture techniques. These included important methods such as applying minimum soil disturbance (meaning no tillage) and diversifying plant species, with crops such as mung beans, in addition to maintaining permanent soil cover.
Together, the women of Fehama embarked on a journey that would see their fields filled with a variety of crops, adding vibrant greens to their harvest.
And so, a simple seed of contention sprouted into abundant and diversified farms, along with a flourishing women’s farming collective.
With financial support from the European Union, FAO assisted the women in setting up farmers’ groups and provided them with hand-held tractors, trailers and other farming tools.
A new challenge
With the new harvests exceeding their expectations, a new challenge arose: Where to place their products?
“In the beginning, when we started conservation agriculture with the FAO team, we did not have much confidence that we would be able to sell the products on the market,” recalls Joaquina Branco, from the cooperative Hakmoton, which also benefited from FAO support.
At the time, local farmers relied on selling their products at the central municipal market, where oversupply drove prices down.
Instead, FAO helped Fehama and other farmers groups find alternative ways to sell the products.
One obvious candidate was the government’s Merenda Eskolar, a national social protection programme that provides free meals to children in elementary school. FAO connected the farmers’ groups to Merenda Eskolar to provide them with stable customers while supplying the children with nutritious food.
In Timor-Leste, 75 percent of the population does not have enough food, and almost half of its children under five years old are stunted, making the Merenda Eskolar programme a vital component of the government’s efforts to improve food security and nutrition, heighten social protection for children and support the economic inclusion of farmers.
FAO, in partnership with the local organization Hamutuk Ita Ajuda Malu Health and the local government, facilitated the stipulation of contracts between farmers and small enterprises that manage the school feeding programme in Manufahi municipality. FAO also advised on appropriate diets rich in protein, vitamins and minerals, as well as more efficient cooking methods.
“The Merenda Eskolar programme has changed our way of producing,” Joaquina says. “Previously, we produced more food crops rich in carbohydrates. Now, we focus on horticulture, which brings more nutritional benefits and has more value than other food crops because it has a daily market demand.”
This connection meant a stable source of nutrition for the school children and a regular income for the women’s group.
“We store the products here. The programme comes to buy them and takes them to the schools. They pay us and we use the earnings to support our children with their school needs. We use the rest of the money to buy food and seeds to replant,” Prisca says.
In all, FAO and its partners also trained over 70 food preparers, teachers and parents on balanced and nutritious meals for children, hygiene and food safety.