Going organic: East Timor Prospective (part 2)

As far as I have explained in the first article about going organic: East Timor prospective, it is a time to look inside about the scenario that happens in the organic food production in Timor Leste. Here I took an example of coffee which is one of the main cash crops for Timor Leste farmers who lives in the mountainous region. In East Timor coffee production is not really a “farming activity”. It is characterized by being only a coffee harvesting one. The people involved in it are not engaged in cropping or farming coffee and do not relate to typical coffee production principles. They can be referred to as farmers as their involvement with the crop basically starts and ends with the harvesting season. To understand why these farmers have not evolved as coffee farmers per se it is necessary to look into the nature of the events surrounding the coffee scenario.

Introduction

Coffee was introduced to Timor Leste by Portuguese around 18^th Centuries. This is a commodities become one of the cash crop for most of the Timorese farmers living in the mountaineous area. Ermera, Aileu, Ainaro, Liquica, Manufahi and some part Bobonaro are the main coffee growing areas of Timor Leste. It is believe that when the Portuguese brought coffee to Timor Leste, Mambai is the ethnic group that mainly responsible for the growing of coffee because of their habitat. Coffee plantation was ruled by the Portuguese governor and Timorese were only the servant to look after the coffee plantation.

However, after Portuguese left the country in 1974, the coffee plantation is not gained more income due to the monopoly system by the Indonesian owned company. Two main companies that owned coffee industry in Timor Leste from 1974 until 1994 was military backed company and all the exported coffee is sending to Indonesia. Timorese coffee industry occupied by well-known company from USA NCBA which become the main contractor for coffee industry in Timor Leste. The formation of Cooperativa Café Timor (CCT) becomes one of the remarkable histories in the coffee industry of Timor Leste. The struggle of referendum in 1999 not become the downturn of coffee industry in Timor Leste, however, it become more popular and become one of the commodity that gain popularity and export earnings after oil and gas.

More than 90 % of coffee production takes places in relatively low income and developing countries such as Timor Leste. All this production is belong to the five districts of coffee areas in Timor Leste. Ermera, Aileu, Ainaro, Manufahi and Liquica. Ermera is one of the districts that produce most of the coffee organic in Timor Leste. According to Ministerio de Agricultura e Pescas (2013) Ermera is the main production with total 4,615 tonnes of coffee production which contribute to the total coffee export in Timor Leste. Moreover, other districts also contribute to the total export of coffee in for about seven thousand tonnes.

Prospects of organic coffee

While the best achievement of our coffee in the world which has gained popularity, we also need to see the prospect of organic coffee production in the future. Is this sustainable for long period? As we all know that, coffee become one of the main cash crops for most of our farmers in the district such as Ermera, Aileu, Ainaro, Manufahi and some part of Liquica and Bobonaro. The dependency of coffee for them becomes the heredity and has created a family bond.

Timor Leste was recently rated at 10 in the world for organic agriculture by the Newsweek magazine. Agricultural expert with many years of experience in Timor Leste suggest that the entire country is effectively chemical fertilizers and pesticides free area. Lack of understanding and basic knowledge on using proper dosage of chemical may cause harm to the health and often can cause some chronic health problem for long term.

Timor Leste ranked 40 in the world for green coffee production according to data by factfish (2012) with the value as put in the number is 9.000 tonnes and this is one of the achievements for our coffee industry. However, we can reach the milestone in the producing greener coffee in the coming future.

Most of our farmers do not understand about how the money flows in the coffee industry. According to Lao Hamutuk report(2002) the world coffee sales in 1997 was more than $ 43 billion and only one-third of the revenues received by the country that produce coffee, and small farmers receive very less amount for selling their coffee. This indicated that small farmers are not gaining any profit from the coffee industry. The recent survey study which is funded by the Australian government found that in Ermera district where the main coffee production district earned about US$ 250 dollars or less from their annual coffee harvest.

Challenges

As the prospects of coffee industry in Timor Leste is more doubt about the sustainability, maybe it is time to see various challenges that are facing by our farmers in the production of organic coffee. There are various challenges that still need to improve in the future in order to maintain one of the income sources for our family than other crops. Various challenges such as:

1.       Lack of understanding in the principle of organic farming is the main issues. Our coffee farmers are still depending on the season of harvesting. More time spend on harvesting has influence in the maintenance of coffee trees. Trees are left unattended and due to this less green coffee production which will cause downturn to the production of green husk.  

2.      Lack of educational level among our farmers regarding the proper maintenance of coffee trees also become another issue and challenge for sustainability of coffee industry in Timor Leste. Most of the farmers are about 50s and still believe on traditional maintenance of coffee which being heredity by their ancestor and difficult to adopt a new technology.

3.      Fluctuation of the coffee’s prices is also one of the main factors that contribute to the failure of organic coffee industry in Timor Leste.  Government cannot control the coffee prices and coffee prices always depend on international market prices. In here we can divided coffee into high-end coffee and low-end coffee. When coffee at the high end standard, it can be slightly sells at higher prices; however, when come to the low end prices, coffee can be purchased at the lower prices.

4.      Lack of proper maintenance for coffee trees. Time spent in the coffee industry by our farmers is less than time spends in other activities. Only at the harvesting time, time is allocated more than 95 % from total time spent and after all, time spend for coffee maintenance can be minimizes due to some other activities.

5.      Lack of understanding on method of harvesting. For example, farmers are mixing the ripe and unripe coffee beans, due to this unripe beans are not completely develop and this impact to the coffee quality especially weight and beans

There are still many issue about coffee farming in Timor Leste, however, the writer will focus on these five points. Because according to the observation, Timorese coffee has gained popularity in the world and this would be a chance for coffee growers to improve their living in term of economic status.

How to overcome challenge

We always believe that, when God send the problems, there is always come along a solution. As five of the problems that writer discussed earlier regarding coffee growers, it is time to look one by one of the problems. The first problem is lack of understanding on principle of organic farming. Training may be the key to improving the lot of impoverished rural population on the benefits of coffee. Involvement from government body, institute, and university are the main motivator for the improvement of farming practices among the farmers.

Secondly, educational level among the coffee growers can be granted by providing them proper training that is specifically to the problems they have found. Government institutes may become source of information because there are many resources that can help to spread important information to our lovely coffee farmers. Coffee prices hard to be determined by the government, however, the contribution of government to control those entrepreneurs in the monopoly of coffee prices is necessary. Farmers often having lack of information regarding coffee prices because their aim is to sell all the coffee from their farm because they can’t keep it for long period.

To answer the fourth challenges, training should be provides and government subsidies to the farmers. In general, farmers are feeling unsafe about their coffee, if pruning on the base of plant (To make new plant) because there is no source of income to sustain their life for 5-7 years until those coffee plantation provide beans. So, there should be an alternative source of income for them to survive. Lack of time spend in the coffee plantation is because most farmers think that coffee is harvest once or twice a year, so focusing on other source of income is necessary.

Method of harvesting coffee also other serious problems that should be consider. Mixing of unripe and ripe beans may cause decreasing in the quality and often prices. Proper maintaining of coffee beans from government and related institute on coffee beans is necessary because farmers are not well understand about the coffee quality because they are only financially oriented. (Willing to get money than the quality of product)

Finally, as a Timorese, I also concern about the prospect of our coffee industry because coffee is the main cash crops for our people in the five districts. In addition to that, coffee can be extended to other district because of climatic condition that favourable for growth and to sustain coffee for long period, contribution from various related institutes is necessary to achieve better living hood for our Timorese People. Viva Timor Leste!

References

Hummingfish foundation (2001). Maubere mountain coffee cooperative development project

Lao Hamutuk (2002). Issue focus: US government assistance, coffee

Irrish Times (2013). A taste of things to come for subsistence coffee farmers in Timor Leste http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/a-taste-of-things-to-come-for-subsistence-coffee-farmers-in-timor-leste-1.1569632

Ministerio de Agricultura e Pescas, 2013. Coffee production in Timor Leste