Source: USAID/Timor-Leste News Release http://timor-leste.usaid.gov/newsroom/newsroom_NR2008-09-08_02.htm

September 8, 2008 

In a ceremony attended by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), Mariano Assanami Sabino, and the U.S. Ambassador, Hans G. Klemm, a total of 121 young Timorese graduated with a post-secondary degree in agribusiness on September 1, 2008. The students comprised the first batch of graduates of the USAID-supported Building Agribusiness Capacity in East Timor (BACET) program now offered in the MAF-administered agricultural high schools in Natarbora-Manatuto, Moleana-Maliana and Fuiloro-Los Palos.

The BACET program, implemented by U.S.-based company Land O’Lakes, is the first agribusiness certificate program of its kind in Timor-Leste, designed to produce young agribusiness entrepreneurs.

In his remarks, the Minister underscored the importance of agriculture in Timor-Leste and the important role that the graduates will play in the nation’s development. “The challenge awaiting all of you is applying your knowledge and skills so that agriculture can contribute to peace. When people are hungry, they will not listen to reason. Agriculture deserves more respect because it can make an important contribution to peace and development,” Minister Sabino told the graduates.

Minister Sabino also expressed the MAF’s commitment “to consolidate support from USAID, especially in the development of Timor-Leste’s agricultural products.”

U.S. Ambassador Klemm, for his part, also reminded the graduates of their central role in helping communities and achieving the government’s goal of reaching food self-sufficiency by 2011. The Ambassador added: “The U.S. government strongly supports Timor-Leste’s goal of fully utilizing its agricultural potential, and increasing agricultural productivity and farmers’ income. Farming is a strong part of the American history and tradition, and we continue to invest a great deal in agriculture.”

In the process of introducing the one-year vocational training course, the BACET program also trained agriculture teachers, built new classrooms, workshops and dormitories in the schools, installed satellite communications systems and internet connectivity, and exposed students to innovative technologies and modern agribusiness practices.

As part of their coursework, the students learned hands-on skills through practical exercises in growing and harvesting crops, breeding and caring for livestock, and fixing machinery. They also learned to operate as a cooperative and have started making profit from their crops and products.

USAID enlisted Land O’Lakes to implement the BACET program, given the latter’s track record in the U.S. as a farmers’ cooperative and industry leader in branded dairy products and feed for livestock animals.