JOINT PRESS RELEASE

Governu Japaun no CARE kontinua hasa’e produsaun agríkola no hakbiit feto nia ekonomia iha Atsabe

Dili, 05 Fevereiru, 2024 – Governu Japaun kontinua suporta toos-nain rural no komunidade sira iha Atsabe, iha munisipiu Ermera, ho parseria ho CARE liu husi projetu HAFORSA.

Dezde 2016 to’o 2019 CARE implementa tiha projetu HAFORSA 1 iha Atsabe, ho objetivu atu hasa’e toos-nain sira nia kapasidade atu diversifika no tau matan ba sira nia agrikultura no hasa’e feto nia partisipasaun iha atividade agríkola. Hafoin projetu faze primeiru ne’e remata, faze segundu komesa husi 2020 to’o inisiu 2024, ho foku atu hametin liu tan susesu sira ne’ebé atinje ona iha faze primeiru – liu-liu ba hadi’ak toos-nain sira nia nesesidade moris no responde ba dezafius sira relasiona ho dezigualdade jéneru. Maske faze primeiru ba projetu ne’e susesu tebes, iha parte balun feto sira nafatin hetan dezafius atu fahe tempu ba responsabilidade sira iha uma-laran ho atividade agrikultura nian. Adisionalmente, norma jéneru ne’ebé ladi’ak no persepsaun tradisional konaba feto nia knaar iha agrikultura sai bareira ba feto sira nia reprezentasaun iha pozisaun foti-desizaun iha estrutura grupu toos-nain sira. Atu responde ba dezafiu sira ne’e, iha faze segundu ekipa CARE fó treinamentu ba feto toos-nain sira ba koalia iha públiku, no fasilita sira atu envolve an no foti knaar lideransa nian iha prosesu foti-desizaun komunitáriu. Envolve mane no labarik mane atu promove igualdade jéneru no dezafia norma jéneru ne’ebé ladi’ak loke dalan ba feto sira atu foti knaar lideransa iha sira nia grupu toos-nain sira.

Antes projetu ne’e komesa, komunidade balun iha rejiaun Atsabe falta sistema fornesimentu bee ba agrikultura hodi tulun toos-nain sira ho atividade agríkola iha tempu bailoro. Toos-nain sira iha area ne’e prinsipalmente depende ba udan atu kuda ai-han, no ida ne’e difisil tebes bainhira sira nia rejiaun tama ba periudu bailoro naruk. Iha faze segundu projetu HAFORSA, komunidade sira estabelese sistema bee no CARE fornese ona treinamentu ba hasa’e kapasidade atu ajuda sira maneja no halo manutensaun ba sistema bee sira ne’e liu periudu implementasaun projetu.

Iha tinan ida ne’e, projetu HAFORSA sei estende ba faze terseiru ho suporta fundus no parseria di’ak ho Governu Japaun. Ohin loron, Embaixador Japaun ba Timor-Leste Sua Eselensia Tetsuya Kimura, no Jestora Projetu HAFORSA, Sra. Yoko Ito, asina akordu ba estensaun projetu HAFORSA faze terseiru, ho montante ba projetu hamutuk USD $355,942. 

HAFORSA 3 iha objetivu atu hametin atinjimentu no aprendizajen husi faze segundu, liu-liu ba hadi’ak nesesidade moris husi toos-nain rural sira, hasa’e feto sira nia empoderamentu ekonomia, no hadi’ak sira nia nutrisaun liu husi promosaun dieta saudavel no mos maneira atu tein ho saudavel. Iha faze terseiru ba projetu ne’e, ami nia ekipa sei esplora aproximasaun husi kuda ai-han ba konsumu deit ba kuda ai-han orientadu ba fan iha merkadu. Servisu besik ho toos-nain sira, ami nia ekipa iha objetivu atu uza tekniku agrikultura inovativu no modernu atu hasa’e toos-nain sira nia produtu agríkola no haluan sira nia ligasaun ho merkadu lokal atu fan sira nia produtu.

Iha seremonia asina akorda ba estensaun projetu HAFORSA, Embaixador Japaun ba Timor-Leste, Sua Eselensia Tetsuya Kimura, hateten katak Governu Japaun suporta Governu Konstitusional IX nia polítika ba dezenvolvimentu agrikultura, iha ne’ebé mak sai baze ba dezenvolvimentu ekonomiku no espresa hakarak atu kontinua suporta dezevolvimentu setor agrikultura ho kolaborasaun hamutuk ho CARE. “Durante aprezentasaun diskursu públiku no haree toos-nain sira fan produtu hortikultura iha Atsabe, iha ne’ebé hau partisipa iha Otubru tinan kotuk ho Sua Eselensia Sekretaria Estadu ba Igualdade, ami hetan pedidu atu kontinua ho projetu HAFORSA. Hau kontente ohin loron ami bele hatan ba komunidade sira nia pedidu.”

Durante nia diskursu, Sr. Peter Goodfellow, Diretor Nasional ba CARE iha Timor-Leste dehan, “Ami orgullu tebes atu selebra estensaun ba inisiativa importante ida ne’e ba feto no labarik feto sira iha area remota no rural iha Atsabe, no ami husu atu ita fahe no promove pratika di’ak sira ba ekipamentu projetu no mos esperiensia sira ne’ebé envolve feto nia lideransa iha agrikultura husi projetu ne’e ba inisiativa sira ne’ebé ho foku hanesan iha parte seluk iha rai-laran. Projetu HAFORSA ne’e susesu tebes obrigadu ba parseria forte entre Ministériu Agrikultura, Pekuaria, Peskas no Floresta, Sekretaria Estadu ba Igualdade, Administrasaun Ermera no Atsabe, no mos Embaixada Japaun. Lori CARE nia naran, ami rekoñese no apresia kolaborasaun di’ak ida ne’e.”

【REMATA】

English

The Government of Japan and CARE continues to strengthen agricultural production and women’s economic empowerment in Atsabe

Dili, 05 February, 2024 – The Government of Japan continues its support to rural farmers and communities of Atsabe, in the Ermera municipality, in partnership with CARE through the HAFORSA project.

From 2016 to 2019 CARE implemented the HAFORSA 1 project in Atsabe, with the objective of enhancing the capacity of farmers to diversify and sustain their livelihoods in agriculture and strengthen women’s participation in livelihoods activities. Following on from the completion of the first phase of the project, the second phase operated from 2020 until early 2024, to build on the successes of the first phase in improving livelihoods and addressing challenges related to gender inequality. Despite the successful implementation of the first phase of the project, in some areas women continue to be expected to bear the burden of unequal domestic responsibilities with agricultural and livelihoods activities. In addition, harmful gender norms and traditional perceptions about women’s roles in agriculture hindered their representation in decision-making roles within the farmer group structures. To respond to this challenge, in the second phase the team trained female farmers in public speaking, and facilitated their engagement and leadership in community decision making processes. Engaging men and boys to promote gender equality awareness and disrupt negative gender norms enabled women to take on leadership roles within their farmer groups.

Prior to the start of the project, some communities in the Atsabe region lacked agricultural water supply systems to support farmers with their agricultural activities throughout the dry season. Farmers in the area were primarily reliant on rain-fed cultivation for their livelihoods, making it difficult to cultivate when the region enters periods of drought. In the second phase of the HAFORSA project, communities established agricultural water systems and CARE provided capacity-building training to help them manage and maintain the water systems beyond the project implementation period. 

This year, the HAFORSA project is extending to its third phase with the generous funding assistance from and continued partnership with the Government of Japan. Today, Ambassador of Japan to Timor-Leste H.E. Tetsuya Kimura, and the Program Manager for the HAFORSA project, Ms. Yoko Ito, signed the agreement for the extension of the HAFORSA project’s third phase, with the project value of USD $355,942. 

HAFORSA 3 aims to build on the achievements and lessons from the preceding phase, namely on improving the livelihoods of rural farmers, enhancing women’s economic empowerment, and improving their nutritional status through the promotion of a healthy diet and cooking practices. The shift from subsistence agriculture to market-oriented agriculture will also be a key component of the third phase of the project. Working closely with the rural farmers, our team aims to enhance the use of innovative and modern agricultural techniques to increase their agricultural production and linking them to their local market to sell their produce.

At the signing agreement event for the extension of the HAFORSA project, Mr. Tetsuya Kimura stated that the Government of Japan supports the 9^th Constitutional Government’s policy on agricultural development which is a foundation of economic and social development and expressed its willingness to continue supporting the agricultural development in collaboration with CARE. “During the public speaking presentations and horticulture product sales event in Atsabe, which I attended last October with H.E. Secretary of State for Gender Equality, we received requests for the continuation of HAFORSA project. It is my great pleasure to be able to respond to the community’s request today.”

During his remarks, Mr. Peter Goodfellow, Country Director of CARE in Timor-Leste, said, “We are proud to celebrate today the expansion of this important initiative for women and girls living in remote, rural parts of Atsabe, and call for the sharing and promotion of best practice of tools and experience of women’s leadership in agriculture from this project in similar initiatives elsewhere in the country. This project is successful thanks to the strong partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture Livestock, Fisheries and Forestry, the Secretary of State for Equality, the Atsabe and Ermera administration, and the Embassy of Japan. On behalf of CARE, we acknowledge and appreciate this collaboration.”

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