In a country ranked as one of the poorest nations in the world with high illiteracy rates, it comes as no surprise that the approach of East Timor’s farmers to managing diseases and pests in their crops is a far cry from Australia’s approach to biosecurity.
Professor in Plant Pathology Gavin Ash from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Australia is leading an AusAID-funded project to increase the capacity of East Timor to improve its management of diseases and pests on crops.
Professor Ash’s commitment to participate in a global effort to develop East Timor agricultural sector began with his first visit to the Southeast Asian nation in 2006 only few years after East Timor was declared an independent country.
“During my trip to East Timor for the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Plant Biosecurity to investigate biosecurity threats to Australia, it was clear there was real and urgent need for more local training in the awareness and use of chemicals and plant protection.
AusAID project
This observation spurred the specialist in the pathology of plants to secure $230 000 through the AusAID’s, Public Services Linkage Program for a 12-month project, Capacity Building in Crop Disease Management and Spray Application.
As part of the AusAID funded project, two scientific staff from East Timor’s Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), Mr Roni Tpoi and Mr Severino Costa recently spent two, eight week sessions in at CSU in Wagga Wagga undergoing intensive training in plant protection.
Earlier in the project, at the end of 2010, Professor Ash led a team from CSU to Dili to conduct five days of workshops for local MAF staff on the technology involved in pesticide application. The emphasis in the workshops was farmer and community safety as well as integrated pest management.
“The staff have since taken that training out to farmers in East Timor’s 12 provinces to show them spraying techniques, how to store pesticides and use protective equipment such as masks.
“It is understood amongst East Timorese farmers that if they use pesticides they will get more food from their crops. However the farming practices which we regard as basic in improving Australian crop yields are far from common in East Timor’s rural areas. The high illiteracy rates don’t help and pose a real problem in such a simple step as reading an instruction label or safety warnings.
“We have equipped MAF staff to go out to the rural areas to share their knowledge. This ranges from how to set up pesticide sprays or how to be innovative in personal protection such as the use of a recycled water bottle as a face mask.
“Sometimes the message is as blunt as telling the farmers it is not safe to mix the chemicals in the same bowl that they will eat rice from at their next meal.
“We hope to reach about 1 000 farmers through the project. This includes many small farmers working crops such as potatoes, rice and maize. Disease and pests can reduce their yields by as much as 40 per cent.
“In a country where a quarter of the population are regarded as ‘food insecure’ or at some stage go hungry, this project to assist the East Timorese manage their crop diseases and pests and ultimately increase food production is obviously important.
Survey and cycle
One of Professor Ash’s 10 PhD students is Ms Nicola Wunderlich. She will return to East Timor this September to assess the impact of the workshops in Dili for local MAF staff and farmers. She will evaluate the success of this training by interviewing all the workshop participants and other farmers to see if they have changed their behaviour or attitudes towards pesticides.
A keen tri-athlete, Ms Wunderlich will also take leave while in East Timor to get a real taste of the countryside by competing in the Tour De Timor 2011, a gruelling 551 kilometre cycle.
Amid her training and work on this East Timor project in 2011, Ms Wunderlich has also found time to complete her PhD into a (fungal) pathogen which attacks grapevines.
Professor Ash said, “The East Timorese are wonderful people. They have a great sense of humour. Their country has a lot of potential and there are opportunities for it to become strong and truly independent. But it is unfortunately working from a low base. Historically under the Portuguese and then Indonesia, there were decades of missed opportunities to train the East Timorese in areas such as plant protection.
“There are five people employed by MAF trained in quarantine, biosecurity and food protection. These are the only specialists in plant protection.
“Of course this has implications for Australia. East Timor is only a short flight from Australia and so is a stepping stone to a range of pests and diseases from Asia which are potentially devastating for Australian agriculture.
“Given our shared histories, I believe we owe something to this country. This is what motivates me to keep returning to East Timor and support them towards a brighter future. While this project ends in the middle of next year, I hope we are there for our neighbours for the long haul.”
