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3 Major Projects Toward Sustainable Agriculture in Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste is a small, agrarian country that largely depends on its struggling agriculture sector for financial and economic security. Nearly 80 percent of Timor-Leste’s population is smallholder, local farmers who depend on the annual crop yields for their subsistence. Unfortunately, crop yields are often low or lost post-harvest, leaving many areas of the country below the poverty line.

In some districts, like Manufahi, approximately 85 percent of the population survives on $0.88 a day. Developing sustainable agriculture in Timor-Leste has been a focal point for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries since 2003, but still requires significant financial backing and guidance from other government agencies and global aid societies.

Multiple projects have been proposed and implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the government of Timor-Leste in conjunction with the Global Agriculture and Food Security Trust Fund and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The sole purpose of these projects is to give Timor-Leste’s agriculture sector the chance to successfully become a competitor in burgeoning world markets via modernizing farming techniques and educating the smallholder farmers.

Here are a few of the projects implemented for the development of sustainable agriculture in Timor-Leste:

 

The Timor-Leste Agricultural Rehabilitation, Economic Growth and Sustainable Natural Resource Management Project

The sole purpose of this project, instituted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in 2003, was to increase farm and crop productivity. To accomplish this, farmers were taught new and advanced techniques for increasing crop yields and reducing the number of crops lost after harvest. This, in turn, would raise the annual income of the farmers and create more jobs. This project saw moderate success, but Timor-Leste still faces the same challenges.

Crops are constantly lost due to inefficient farming practices, which in turn creates harsh and unsustainable environments for future crops. Educating farmers on appropriate farming techniques crop survival in the country’s environment remains one of the main objectives of most projects geared for sustainable agriculture in Timor-Leste.

 

The Developing Agricultural Communities (DAC) Project

This project aims to connect smallholder farmers with large-scale retailers and train them in the technologies and horticultural practices necessary for expanding into vast markets. In conjunction with ConocoPhillips, an American energy company, and K’manek and Dilimart, two of the largest local supermarkets in Timor-Leste, USAID hope to connect local farmers with the farm-to-market chain to improve their economic and social positions.

 

The Sustainable Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project (SAPIP)

This six-year project, agreed upon by the World Bank and the government of Timor-Leste in 2016, received $21 million from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Trust Fund. It aims to revitalize and improve the productivity of crops in selected areas so as to boost their status in the world market. Timor-Leste has dealt with malnutrition as a result of the loss of staple foods and the insecurity of food production caused by poor soil and water management.

This project aims to create secure food production through smallholder farmers by improving multiple watersheds in different geographical locations. These watersheds will prevent contaminants from entering the crop soil while simultaneously increasing the amount of water that reaches the crops. The sheds will be monitored and evaluated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the continued support of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Trust Fund.

 

Future Steps for Timor-Leste

Sustainable agriculture in Timor-Leste is well on its way, but still requires additional funding for the vast number of projects planned for continued success in their agriculture sector. Timor-Leste still needs to establish a reliable and stable economy through their marketability, and through continued support from its government and global aid campaigns, the nation can achieve that goal.

– Kayla Rafkin

Photo: Flickr

Credit Access in Suriname Continues to Grow Every Day

credit access in Suriname
While small, the South American country of Suriname has a booming mining economy. With a recent rise in oil prices, Suriname has worked to overcome a recent dip in economic growth and currency inflation. Credit access in Suriname is also on the rise, and there have been several advancements in credit access and its reporting in recent years.

International Finance Corporation

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) reported that in 2013, Suriname created a new credit reporting system that increased the access businesses have to information about credit processes. This has been built and implemented to help build better business strategies and manage risky lending strategies, measures that then save small businesses from dangerous credit choices.

Systems like these encourage lending growth and healthy business strategy in small countries. Although Suriname has little to no record of credit histories before 2013, the IFC’s new credit reporting system is a step toward healthier credit access in Suriname.

Female Investors and the U.N.

Suriname is in the process of an economic reboot after economic growth statistics dropped from five percent in 2012  to -10.4 percent in 2016. At a 2012 presentation to the U.N., a representative for Suriname spoke on behalf of the female population of Suriname and presented a proposal for a new national gender policy; the plan delineated how the nation would prevent further discrimination of Surinamese women in business practice.

One of the areas in which women have been hurt by discrimination is in the credit access market. By implementing this new policy-based on the Beijing Plan for Action, Suriname hopes to alleviate the added stress of gender discrimination on its credit market.

Growth of Credit Access

Although only two of many new policies offer a solution for credit access growth, Suriname has a strong and constantly increasing economy that helps to grow credit access within its borders.

– Molly Atchison

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Developments In Sustainable Agriculture in Sao Tome and Principe

Sao Tome
Sao Tome and Principe is a small island nation in Africa, close to the equator. It has a population of less than 200,000, and extreme poverty is widespread in the country, particularly in rural areas.

Sao Tome and Principe is Africa’s smallest country geographically and relies heavily on agriculture, specifically the production of cocoa. Approximately 95 percent of the country’s exports are in cocoa; however, due to recent droughts and a lack of sustainable agriculture in Sao Tome and Principe, production has steadily decreased.

 

Current State of the Economy

Roughly 60 percent of the nation’s employment is in the rural sector and as of 2016, the unemployment rate was just under 14 percent. Since the nation is so small, the economy doesn’t have much room to grow — it increases approximately four percent per year. This growth is not enough for the country to sustain itself, and due to the lack of sustainable agriculture in Sao Tome and Principe, the economy cannot flourish or grow any more than it currently is.

With a sustainable agriculture system, the country will be able to decrease poverty, increase employment, and by extension, better the economy.

 

Efforts Towards Sustainable Agriculture

Since the late 1980s, the World Bank introduced and implemented projects in Sao Tome and Principe to help strengthen the country’s agriculture and production. Though most of these projects have been met with limited success, the World Bank has invested over 20 million in Sao Tome and Principe’s agriculture over the years.

Most projects still being implemented by the World Bank are now dedicated towards financials and budgeting; however, the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has taken over improving and developing agriculture within the nation.

In November 2010, AfDB introduced the Infrastructure Rehabilitation for Food Security Support Project (PRIASA). The aims of this project are to increase appropriate infrastructure and support rural communities in creating sustainable agriculture in Sao Tome and Principe. These efforts will increase crop production in these areas as well as create more jobs thus decreasing unemployment.

 

Improvements Already Underway

Sao Tome and Principe has already reaped benefits from the project in the last seven years. The nation has integrated gravity-fed irrigation systems, built greenhouses and created and installed solar dryers. All of these improvements can hopefully lead to the continued presence of sustainable agriculture in Sao Tome and Principe.

The project also helps support the infrastructure development needed to create sustainable agriculture. AfDB has roads, offices and modernized technology in Sao Tome and Principe, and so far, the project has reached over 10 thousand beneficiaries.

 

Training and Continued Development

Training is also a part of the initiative. Over 100 technicians and officials of the Ministry of Rural Development in Sao Tome and Principe have been specifically trained in how to sustain the developments made to the country’s agricultural system.

While improvements still have to be made before the nation can state complete sustainable agriculture, Sao Tome and Principe is definitely making significant headway. With the groundwork laid, Sao Tome and Principe has a strong chance of making themselves a prosperous and fortified country.

– Courtney Wallace

Photo: Flickr

National and International Efforts to Increase Credit Access in Peru

credit access in Peru
The access to bank accounts is not what first comes to mind when one thinks of privilege, but this issue is a major reality for numerous countries. Amongst these countries lies Peru and its amount of accessible bank accounts and credit access for the financial institutions in the country.

 

Lack of Bank Accounts

Despite Peru possessing the fastest-growing economy in their region, having a bank account is not a common occurrence amongst the population. This lack is due in part to the absence of information available to people about their bank accounts, as well as services of banks being severely limited. These instances contribute to a common theme among Peruvian banks that incites little incentive in the citizens of Peru to create accounts.

 

General Absence of Financial Literacy

The lack of financial literacy in the country is another problem with credit access in Peru. Many Peruvians don’t have savings in a bank of any kind, and only 40 percent of people know how to calculate annual interest rates. With little to no financial literacy, Peruvians have a hard time putting their trust into financial institutions, especially when those institutions aren’t forthcoming with information about accounts.

 

Banks Withhold Information

For the citizens that do have bank accounts, their financial situation is not much better than citizens who do not because the banks of Peru often conceal information from the public about their own accounts. These instances make it hard for citizens to put their trust into banks, as these institutions are the ones keeping private information that should be available to account-holders.

 

Credit Impacts to Lower Income Individuals and Communities

This is especially crippling for the lower-income citizens. Those citizens with less substantial income, and who put their trust in banks have a very hard time finding out what their account balance is. This could have a supremely negative effect on families that do not have much and cannot afford to overdraft their account and go into debt. They would not know when their account was low, and therefore never know if they overdraft the account until it is too late.

The lower-income communities are also the communities that are comprised of lower education rates, an instance which is directly correlated to the lack of financial literacy in the citizens of those same neighborhoods.

 

 

The Grupo Monge and Credit Access in Peru

Despite their lack of financial literacy, the Grupo Monge (GMG) works with the Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (EFL) to help people with no previous credit history become financially literate and create bank accounts within the financial institutions of Peru. These efforts have the potential to help almost 12 million citizens of Peru.

The GMG has helped create bank accounts for more than 3,000 citizens without credit access in Peru. This fiscal growth increased the Peruvian market for financial institutions and helped many citizens become more financially literate in securing and monitoring their finances. These changes will have a positive effect on the Peruvian economy because with more citizens contributing to the credit of the country, the nation should continue to grow as a result.

– Simone Williams

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

6 Major Reasons for How and Why Social Enterprise Works

Social Enterprise
Traditional businesses measure their success by profit and how much they can bring shareholders. Social enterprises have multiple bottoms lines: profit, people and planet. Profit is important in sustaining a business, but the idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is gaining in popularity. Consumers educate themselves on products which leads businesses into action. Focusing on multiple areas of business (triple bottom line) is the crucially important reason why social enterprise works.

The Traditional Standard: Profit

Profit is an excellent measure of growth and is quantifiable. A business that has a surplus by the end of the year means bills were paid and employees provided for. It doesn’t hurt that investors or shareholders see a return on their money. If there is profit, that means the company is an asset to the economy; this then means more customers, more employees and more investors overall. This business detail remains a critical factor in why social enterprise works.

The Growing Standard: People

People want to be happy, and as most of a person’s waking hours are spent at work, these two aspects of life are thereby deeply intertwined. It’s becoming common knowledge that a happier employee means a more productive workplace. An employee who feels empowered and enjoys what they do generally equates to higher productivity and profitability.

Success with people can lead to 65 percent in higher share prices and 100 percent more job applications for the company.

The Growing Concern: Planet

Consumer understanding of the planet’s dwindling resources are slowly impacting their buying habits. There hasn’t been a huge move towards green living, but some like social enterprises make this a priority along with profit and people. A new awareness day, Overshoot Day, marks the calendar for when humanity has used up Earth’s resources for that year.

From 2000 to 2017, Overshoot Day crept up from late September to early August, almost by two months. Social enterprises have noticed this trend and are now making moves to change it through sustainable resources.

A Moral Solution: Changing the Trajectory for an At-Risk Individual

Many businesses might choose a social entrepreneurial path because there is an issue the organization wants to address. At the heart of freedom businesses (a subgroup of social enterprises) is the goal to hire at-risk individuals. Some businesses like Purnaa, a manufacturing business in Nepal, were inspired to create opportunities for marginalized people and survivors of exploitation. Others like Papillion Enterprise, an Artisan shop in Haiti, wanted to prevent orphans through job creation.

Using Resources to Continue the Process

A difficult move for many small social enterprises is growth, particularly in some countries outside of the U.S. There might not be property to mortgage against or the interest rate would kill the purpose. Some social enterprises — like Kairos Trader — use profits and fundraising to provide 0 percent loans to social enterprises. As business grows and money is repaid, the loan can then be cycled into another loan to help social enterprises start or step up.

Economic Growth: The Ripple Effect

This list would not be complete without mentioning social enterprises’ impact on economic growth– freedom businesses’ commitment to marginalised people and the Earth is why much of its social enterprise works.

Communities that may have been jobless or ostracised now have opportunities. Those with jobs are able to educate their children and become consumers which grows consumerism on a generational scale building the economy with it.

According to Matt Peterson, founder of Kairos Traders, every sector is needed to make a change for people and planet, but business offers a unique solution. It can seem counterintuitive to have a triple bottom line, but success is proving why social enterprise works.

Profit is needed to be able to grow and provide jobs and materials, but a business that bases its impact on community and planet is a more holistic approach that will bear more fruitful results.

– Natasha Komen

Photo: Flickr

Plans to Improve Sustainable Agriculture in Turkmenistan

Plans to Improve Sustainable Agriculture in Turkmenistan Sustainable agriculture in Turkmenistan has been difficult to implement due to a lack of resources and an effective way of maintaining agricultural plans. Improvements to the country’s agricultural systems are currently being discussed by activists and governments across the globe.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) cites lack of management and effective irrigation systems as barriers to the implementation of sustainable agriculture practices. To address these barriers, aid organizations will not only need an effective irrigation plan in a country where, according to USAID, 80 percent of land is classified as desert, but will need to outline a sound managerial plan for maintaining it.

According to Support for Further Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development in Turkmenistan (SARD III), the European Union has drawn plans for a four-year project. This complex initiative to improve sustainable agriculture in Turkmenistan required presentations in addition to a lengthy outline. In addition to government plans, aid organizations have chosen to address the issue through education and new technology.

Last fall, a partnership between The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Global Environment Facility and the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Economy of Turkmenistan resolved to construct a water pipeline to assist with the issue of sustainable agriculture. According to UNDP, a seminar was given in Ashgabat to outline the plan for the pipeline, explain its success in the past and discuss the importance of daily water conservation practices.

Education about effective agricultural methods has been adopted by other agencies as well. In a statement on the USAID Turkmenistan website, the organization claims to “…prioritize greenhouse horticulture, helping high-value fruit and vegetable growers, processors and marketing specialists connect with local and international markets.” Although the actions and projects by aid organizations as well as plans for improvement are important, aid organizations also emphasize education and explain ways people can make a difference in their everyday lives.

Although activists are doing what they can to address their concerns about sustainable agriculture in Turkmenistan, citizens also consider agriculture a priority and referenced agriculture in a 2015 UNICEF report about goals for the future. Aid organizations and volunteers aim to make sustainability projects a priority and to make sustainability plans a reality.

– Gabriella Evans

Photo: Flickr

Infrastructure in Timor-Leste Growing According to Strategic Plan

infrastructure in Timor-LesteTimor-Leste is a young nation facing many difficulties, but it is also a nation striving to advance itself daily. One of the areas in which the nation is making strides is in the development of its infrastructure.

On August 30, 1999, the people of current day Timor-Leste voted on whether they wanted to remain part of Indonesia or become an independent nation. Ultimately, 78.5 percent of voters voted for independence. During this time, violence broke out and approximately 70 percent of the infrastructure in Timor-Leste was destroyed.

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste officially became a sovereign nation on May 20, 2002. Since then, the nation has been working to resolve the problems it faces. The damaged and underdeveloped infrastructure in Timor-Leste is one of the major challenges that the country has been working on in recent years.

The government of Timor-Leste created and released a strategic plan that it aims to complete by 2030, which it hopes will improve quality of life, health and education standards. Included in this plan is an entire section on developing the nation’s infrastructure. In this section, plans to improve roadways, bridges, waterways, sanitation techniques, electricity, seaports, airports and telecommunications are laid out.

Recently, the government of Timor-Leste opened the nation’s second airport, the Suai Airport, on June 20, 2017. The opening of this airport was included in the strategic development plan and is an example of one of the many ways the infrastructure of Timor-Leste is being improved upon.

In addition to the opening of the Suai Airport, there are future plans to upgrade Timor-Leste’s other airport, the Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport. This airport currently handles around 80,000 to 100,000 passengers each year, but after renovations are completed, the airport should be capable of handling up to one million passengers per year.

Another example of the infrastructural developments being made in Timor-Leste is the road expansion project that the country is undergoing. The World Bank is currently helping to fund Timor-Leste’s road expansion project. In April 2017, a $35.2 million credit was given to Timor-Leste from the World Bank to expand the nation’s transportation project.

This project will make roadways safer for travelers and increase travel opportunities between the northern and southern parts of the country. Having dependable roadways will aid Timor-Leste in developing other aspects of its infrastructure and lead to increased economic opportunity within the nation. These roadways will promote rural development and support the growth of healthcare and education in Timor-Leste.

The development of infrastructure in Timor-Leste is still ongoing, but advances can be seen. The opening of a second airport and the major transportation project are just two examples of the work being done on the infrastructure in the country. The government of Timor-Leste plans to continue to build on these advancements in hopes that a developed infrastructure will improve the standard of living for every one of its citizens.

– Nicole Stout

Photo: Flickr

Increasing Subsistence Yields Key to Sustainable Agriculture in Kiribati

sustainable agriculture in Kiribati

Kiribati is a Pacific coral atoll nation located close to Australia. An atoll is a ring-like island formed by the rim or border of the mouth of a former volcano which is now submerged in water. Atolls are an ideal habitat for colorful coral reefs, but on the other hand, only a small set of crops can flourish here. Hence, the pressing need for sustainable agriculture in Kiribati must be acknowledged.

Kiribati is one of the most impoverished and least developed countries in the world. Here, families largely depend on subsistence agriculture for survival and nutrition. Common crops are coconuts, pandanus, pumpkins, taro, breadfruit, banana, papaya and mango. Most food items are imported from other parts of the world.

Like several other small island nations, Kiribati is critically vulnerable to climate change and global warming. According to the New Yorker, experts believe that at the current pace of rising water levels, “there would be no Kiribati after 30 years”. Kiribati president Anote Tong told the New Yorker in 2013 that “according to the projections, within this century, the water will be higher than the highest point in our lands”.

In 2014, Tong finalized the purchase of a 20-square-kilometer stretch of land on Vanua Levu, one of the larger Fiji islands, 2,000 kilometers away. The move was described by Tong as an “absolute necessity” should the nation be completely submerged.

Developing sustainable agriculture in Kiribati could increase productivity, ensure food and income security, enhance the quality of life and create inclusive and equitable economic growth for everyone. Thankfully, Kiribati has access to financial aid and agricultural expertise. Global organizations and developed nations are offering their powerhouse of knowledge to assist with sustainable economic growth in the country. It receives $36 million in foreign aid, largely from Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.

An agreement signed by Tong and the International Fund for Agricultural Development promises $7 million to promote activities to increase the household production of fruits, vegetables, poultry, root crops and tree crops. The agreement also aims to improve diets through the consumption of a higher proportion of calories and nutrients from local food crops. It will also implement ways to harvest rainwater to increase household water supply.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has designed and implemented several programs for farmer training and soil improvement in the area to enhance the production of coconut and banana. It has slowly and steadily phased out the senile coconut trees that comprised 40 percent of the entire plantation and replaced them with a new rodent-resistant variety.

In addition, by leveraging a novel narrow pit planting system and tissue culture technology, farmers have successfully increased the production of bananas and other fruits and vegetables. In partnership with the Timber and Forestry Training College at Papua New Guinea’s University of Technology, hundreds of farmers have been trained in nursery establishment and management, use of equipment and tissue culture technology, among others.

Needless to say, the future of sustainable agriculture in Kiribati looks hopeful and bright, just like the bright yellow sun rising above the ocean waves on its national flag.

– Himja Sethi

Photo: Flickr

Modernizing Credit Access in Azerbaijan

credit access in AzerbaijanAs is the case in many developing economies, credit access in Azerbaijan is not as easy to come by as it should ideally be. That being said, significant efforts are being made to improve the ease of credit access and ensure that the country’s financial system has the capacity to cope with the increase in demand for credit that will likely come with greater ease of access.

Many of the obstacles to credit access in Azerbaijan are similar to the ones present in other countries. It is particularly difficult for businesses to secure a line of credit. Lenders require extensive collateral and often charge high interest rates. Encouragingly, there are government programs that enable particularly small businesses to secure funding even if they cannot secure a line of credit from a private institution.

Poor financial literacy, especially among business owners, is also impeding credit access in Azerbaijan. Many are often denied loans because of problems that they could rectify if given the needed support and education. For example, many Azerbaijani businesses fail to keep written records because they fail to understand that this impacts their perceived creditworthiness.

Improving financial literacy is an important part of expanding credit access in Azerbaijan. The MicroFinance Bank of Azerbaijan has reported that consumer loans, in particular, are being disbursed at a much higher rate than before, suggesting that creditors are becoming more willing to lend more liberally to reasonably worthy clients.

Also noteworthy are the extensive efforts that are underway to modernize the financial system and promote new lending and borrowing practices. The country’s first private credit bureau was recently established and intends to promote risk pooling and information sharing among the 20 largest domestic financial institutions. It is anticipated that this alone will greatly improve credit access in Azerbaijan by promoting responsible lending and eliminating some of the logistical hassles of applying for and granting credit.

– Michaela Downey
Photo: Flickr

Credit Access in Georgia Among the Best in the World

credit access in GeorgiaCredit in Georgia is comparatively easy to access compared to similar economies in the region. That being said, any deficit in this area is still a major obstacle to economic development. However, steps are being taken to identify the factors standing in the way of credit access in Georgia and determine how to eliminate them

Georgia is ranked as one of the best countries in eastern Europe and central Asia for credit access. Very well-qualified borrowers are able to secure lines of credit without too much difficulty, and the country’s financial system is conducive to lending. It is worth noting that a significant share of applicants are denied because they have unacceptably high levels of existing debt.

However, credit access in Georgia is an issue mainly for new businesses. It is estimated that 40 percent of the small to medium-sized enterprises in Georgia that need credit cannot access it because they are denied or discouraged from even applying. Those who can theoretically be approved for loans often find that the interest rate offered to them is prohibitively high. Seventy percent of applicants for financing said that high interest rates were an issue for them.

Another more minor problem is that it is easier to get a loan in U.S. dollars than it is to get a loan in Georgian lari. As a result, the exchange rate is depreciating and borrowers are extremely vulnerable to fluctuations. Many borrowers are not even aware that borrowing in a foreign currency exposes them to this kind of risk. This is a good example of the unintended consequences of poor access to credit denominated in the local currency.

Fortunately, those who are able to borrow thanks to microfinance programs offered by the U.S. and others generally report that they are happy with their experience. Georgia also has a good financial infrastructure in that there is centralized credit reporting, although many people do not fully understand how it works and are unsure of what to do if they run into trouble.

The Smart Campaign has done extensive research on financial literacy and credit access in Georgia. This research has helped to identify several ways to improve credit access in Georgia, which, if enacted, promise to boost the Georgian economy by encouraging greater financial security while also liberalizing lending practices.

– Michaela Downey

Photo: Wikimedia Commons