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IHiS (Indonesian Historical Studies) 5 (1), 45-58 © 2021 | E-ISSN: 2579-4213  

Implementation of Modern Agricultural Food System in Timor-Leste, 1982-2007          | 45 

 

Received:  
November 22, 2020 
 
Revised:  
June 9, 2021 
 
Accepted:  
June 9, 2021 

Implementation of Modern Agricultural Food System in Timor-Leste, 
1982-2007 

 
Joaquina Tavarez*, Yety Rochwulaningsih, Haryono Rinardi 

Master Program of History, Faculty of Humanities,  
Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, Central Java - Indonesia 

 
*Corresponding Author: quina09.vares@gmail.com 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/ihis.v5i1.9840 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Introduction 
Timor-Leste was the 27th province, before gaining independence from Indonesia. 
Since 1976, Timor-Leste has been part of the territory of the Republic of Indonesia, 
marked by Law Number 7 on the Ratification of the Unification of East Timor into the 
Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) and the establishment of the 

Abstract 
 

This article study examines modern process of agriculture in Timor-Leste in the 
period of 1982 and 2007. The modern agricultural system has been conducted in 
the 1980s, when the Indonesian government worked together with a non-
governmental organization (NGO), namely the East Timor Agricultural 
Development Program (ETADEP) to overcome famine during the civil war in the 
region. The Indonesian government and the NGO ETADEP have modernized 
farmers by using tractor machines to cultivate the land, but at that time 95% were 
categorized as traditional farmers. Thus, it was difficult for them to implement 
modern agriculture at that time. This article uses the historical method which 
includes four stages, including heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and 
historiography. The modern process of agriculture in Timor Leste has been 
conducted since 1982 when was marked by the implementation of the Mass 
Guidance program (BIMAS). Through the Bimas program, the government has 
succeeded in developing farmers' business credit to facilitate the credit provision 
in the form of agricultural tools and inputs to the farmers. After its independence, 
Timor-Leste faced new challenges in food self-sufficiency. The adoption and 
adaptation of new technologies in organic farming, such as the Intensive Design 
System (SRI) and Integrated Crop Management (ICM) are organic farming 
technologies. However, SRI and ICM replaced the modern agricultural system 
which had been adopted from Indonesia. Since 2007, the implementation of both 
the SRI and ICM models have been continued to date. The Timor-Leste 
government has made great efforts to implement SRI and ICM organic farming 
even though the implementation of both models is considered troublesome for 
farmers and indirectly resulted the failure of food self-sufficiency policy in Timor-
Leste. 
 
Keywords:  Modern Agricultural System; New Order Era; Food Sufficiency Policy; 
Mass Guidance Program; Intensive Design System; Integrated Crop Management; 
Timor-Leste. 



 
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Province of East Timor. The beginning of rapid progress in the development of the 
agricultural sector occurred in the 1980s. This was marked by the implementation of a 
program of intensification, diversification, and rehabilitation of food fields that 
occurred widely in all districts in the Province of East Timor. Some progress occurred 
during this period, one of which was reflected in the growth of harvested area, good 
agricultural infrastructure, and maximum land productivity (Tamin et al., 1992, pp. 
164-165). 

This is an interesting phenomenon because in 1978-1980 Timor-Leste 
experienced famine due to the civil war that occurred in that region. The cause of 
hunger occurs due to lack of food, but the hunger is related to violations of human 
rights (HAM) with international humanitarian law (Komisi Penerimaan, Kebenaran 
dan Rekonsiliasi (KPKR) dan Penutupan KPKR, 2005, pp. 7-8), so that Timor-Leste 
received assistance from several countries such as Australia. The assistance was 
provided by a foreign minister named Andrew Sharp Peacock who told the 
government that it would provide $200,000 in preparation for aid to Timor-Leste (“Aid 
to Timor Leste”, 1979, p. 3.). According to the Australian Government's Ministry of 
Welfare, in principle an agreement has been reached to return representatives of the 
Red Cross Committee to support the distribution of food aid to Timor-Leste. 

Basically, the famine that occurred in Timor Leste is also related to the existing 
agricultural conditions in the region. The agricultural system in Timor-Leste 
previously relied on dry land cultivation or shifting agriculture. This type of 
agriculture has historically been adopted in tropical forest ecosystems. Humans clear 
the forest and burn the residue, then prepare the land to plant it and the products 
obtained are consumed for two to three years after which the area is left for replanting 
about ten or twenty years later (Jesus et al., 2015, pp. 194-195). However, the traditional 
food crop farming system is not able to meet food needs because it is subsistence, so 
Timor-Leste needs to carry out modernization of food crops with the aim of increasing 
food production. 

The Indonesian government had attempted to modernize agriculture in Timor-
Leste in the 1980s. However, the Indonesian government at that time collaborated with 
NGOs engaged in agriculture, namely ETADEP, the NGO through the Chatolic Relief 
Service (CRS) which was a continuation of the American aid program, and had helped 
to overcome the famine that occurred in Timor-Leste during this period. In addition, 
in the mid-1980s ETADEP was established in Sare, Ermera and has a laboratory in the 
area (Saldanha, 1994, p. 218). 

The implementation of modern agriculture in Timor-Leste began with the 
Bimas program. The program was implemented in 1982 with the introduction of 
subsidized assistance in the form of agricultural production facilities such as fertilizers, 
pesticides and seeds by the government. When the Bimas Program was terminated in 
the middle of the 1984/1985 planting season, the government then provided Farmer 
Business Credit (Kredit Usaha Tani/ KUT), to help ease the purchase of production 
facilities for farmers, but the implementation was accompanied by Field Agricultural 
Extension Officers (PPL) (Interview with Alfredo Soares, September 20, 2019). 



 
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Furthermore, in 1982, the central government, in this case the Government of the 
Republic of Indonesia, placed 100 heads of families (KK) consisting of 433 people to 
transmigrate to Timor Leste (Tamin, 1992, p. 231). They come from Java and Bali. This 
transmigration program has helped local farmers in cultivating agricultural land. The 
1982 transmigration program in Bobonaro, has helped farmers there to change the way 
of cultivating rice fields. The traditional way of plowing rice fields is to use about 20-
30 buffaloes to be herded together in rice fields without using a plow. Local farmers in 
Bobonaro were then introduced to the plow which was placed on the back of the 
buffalo to be used to plow the fields. Through this new method, it only takes 2 
buffaloes to plow the rice fields (Interview with Pedro Maudasi Lopes, October 1, 
2019). 

One of the impacts of modern agriculture in Timor-Leste is the increasing ability 
of farmers to manage rice fields. Through modern farming models, East Timorese 
farmers can harvest twice a year. The effect is the increase in agricultural production 
to be better than the previous situation. Then the main goal is to improve the lives of 
farmers. It can be seen that previously the ability of farmers in Timor-Leste to engage 
in land cultivation was only one harvest a year due to their limited ability to manage 
land. With the new agricultural technology, farmers can manage the land twice a year, 
thereby increasing the yields obtained (Selvia et. al., 2019, p. 768) 

The implementation of the modern agricultural system in Timor Leste is 
actually related to the Green Revolution Program which is a program to utilize new 
agricultural technologies. Increased agricultural production occurs through the 
presence of skilled farmers who have successfully adapted new cultivation systems for 
various types of crops. One thing to note is that the majority of skilled farmers are 
capital-owning farmers, meaning that capitalism has dominated the new agricultural 
system. Thus, the traditional cultivation system which has been replaced with a 
modern system, in its implementation requires a large amount of capital. Modern 
agricultural systems that emphasize farmers with capital have an impact on increasing 
the productivity of food crops, but not for the welfare of farmers. This happened in 
Timor-Leste during The Mass Guidance (Bimas) program and has helped farmers to 
adapt new agricultural cultivation systems through subsidizing agricultural 
production advice such as fertilizers, pesticides and seeds. However, the modern 
agricultural system puts pressure on farmers with capital, while for small farmers it is 
a disaster for them (Rinardi et al., 2019, p. 126). 

Related to modernization, it can be interpreted as renewal with the 
understanding of shaping into modern tastes, carrying out modern procedures, 
changing traditional tools with modern tools (Samsudin, 1982, p. 122). Meanwhile, 
agricultural modernization is a major change in agricultural patterns from traditional 
methods to more advanced or modern ways. The changes cover various aspects which 
include agricultural institutions, agricultural technology, natural resource 
development (SDA) (Rifkian et. al., 2017, p. 40). Therefore, it can be said that the 
modernization of agriculture in Timor-Leste occurred in the Bimas program which 
changed farmers from traditional to modern. Through the Bimas Program, Timor 



 
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Leste's farmers who initially used simple equipment such as hoe or luku were replaced 
with hand tractors, initially using drum fertilizers instead of chemical fertilizers. The 
rice field cultivation system which is only rainfed uses an irrigation system. 

Important changes in the agricultural system in Timor-Leste occurred when the 
organic farming system was officially implemented ICM and SRI in 2007. However, 
both organic systems were new technologies at the time of independence, but SRI has 
applied during the Indonesian period until some farmers were used to the system. The 
aim of SRI and ICM is both organic and its function is to manage rice seed nurseries 
(Alberto Amaral. 10 October 2019). With the implementation of ICM and SRI means 
that farmers need to make a paradigm shift in the management of paddy fields for rice 
crop productivity. ICM and SRI eliminate fertilization that uses pesticides or chemicals 
instead of animal manure as a natural composer. 

Based on the explanation of the background above, it can be argued that the 
implementation of the modern agricultural system as part of the modernization of 
agriculture that has been carried out since the New Order era, the role of non-
governmental organizations in the development of the modern agricultural system. 
This can be formulated in two questions, among others; First, what was the 
background and development of the modern agricultural system in Timor-Leste in 
1982? Second, what was the role of non-governmental organizations in the 
development of a modern agricultural system during the independence of Timor-
Leste? 
 
Method 
The historical research method is a systematic set of rules and principles for collecting 
historical sources effectively, critically assessing, and proposing a synthesis of the 
results achieved in writing. There are four steps in the historical method, including 
heuristics, criticism or verification, interpretation and historiography. 

Heuristics is a technique of tracing historical sources that are primary or 
secondary and in the form of written or oral sources. The historical explanation in this 
study uses primary sources such as the annual report on the plan for intensification of 
food crops in Timor-Leste in 1991/1992, the annual report on the condition of food crop 
agriculture in the Level I Region of East Timor Province in 1998, statistical sources 
namely East Timor in figures. from 1989 to 1997, Bobonaro in 1998, sources conducted 
in Semarang, especially at the Central Information Office (PIK), sources of reports on 
agriculture obtained online from the Australian National Library newspaper, and 
magazines from America Indenpendent Voices to complete this writing. 

In addition to written sources, the author also explored oral sources in the form 
of interviews. Interviews were conducted with farming communities in several 
municipalities in Timor Leste. They made a living as owner farmers and sharecroppers 
during the same temporal period as this study. Interviews were conducted with village 
government officials, one of whom was the village head and the secretary of the farmer 
cooperative who served during the Indonesian era. Interviews were also conducted 
with the former regent during the independence era of Timor Leste, and several PPL 



 
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employees. The interview is used to complete information that is not contained in 
written sources. 

This study also uses secondary sources from books, journals, proceedings, and 
reports that are relevant to the research topic. The use of secondary sources is 
testimony that does not come from direct eyewitnesses, namely from someone who 
was not present at the events narrated (Gottschalk, 1975, p. 35). Secondary sources 
were obtained at several documentation institutions both in Indonesia and Timor 
Leste. Meanwhile, other secondary sources were obtained online in the form of articles, 
proceedings, and books. Thus, obtaining secondary sources needs to be done offline 
or online. After collecting sources (heuristics), the next stage is verification or criticism 
of the validity of sources. Verification is carried out on all primary sources that have 
been obtained, including annual reports on food crop agriculture (Abdurahman, 2007, 
pp. 68-70). The criticism that is emphasized in writing this thesis is internal criticism 
to test the credibility of sources through collaboration (comparing between sources). 
One of the sources of this collaboration is done on sources of official government 
reports and newspapers. 

Interpretation means interpreting facts or historical evidence that has been 
obtained (Daliman, 2015, p. 81.). Interpretation is necessary because it is basically the 
essence of reading sources. Facts, evidence, or witnesses cannot speak of a 
phenomenon or event in the past. It takes the analytical power of the historian or 
researcher to reveal the meaning of the facts that have been obtained. Therefore, from 
the interpretation process, meanings and relationships between facts are generated. 
Historiography or historical writing can be used as a means of communicating 
research results that are revealed, tested (verified), and interpreted. At this stage, 
reconstruction is carried out through analytical writing of history. 
 
Geographical Location, and Topographical Conditions of Timor-Leste 
Timor-Leste is part of the island of Timor, the island is divided into two parts, namely 
the western part is part of Indonesia's territory, the other part is part of the colony of 
Portugal. The island is a plain consisting of savanna and steppes and the same area, 
namely rows, hills and mountains as well as primary and secondary forests. Many 
small rivers flow from these mountains, cutting the savanna and steppes 
(Koentjaraningrat, 1975, p. 198). 

The type of land in Timor-Leste is dominated by dry land (Priyanto & Dwiyanto, 
2014, p. 207). This is caused by the characteristics of the climate and wind. The 
Monsoon in Timor-Leste that blows from Australia to the west and north tends to be 
hot and dry. This causes rain to rarely fall in the territory of Timor Leste. Under these 
conditions, Timor Leste is actually more suitable to develop livestock than agriculture 
based on rice fields as in Java. Timor-Leste is geographically located longitudinally 
from southwest to east with an astronomical position of 80 17' South Latitude-100 22' 
South Latitude and 1230 25' East Longitude-1270 19' East Longitude (Tamin, 1992, pp. 
21-23). 

The topography of Timor-Leste is in the form of limestone or clay deposits with 



 
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lithosol, podzolic and alluvial soil types. There are types of dry and wet land used for 
food crop production, including land for irrigated and rainfed rice fields. The existing 
condition of Timor-Leste is a dry area with low rainfall. The dry season is longer than 
the rainy season with a relatively lower average number of rainy days. In 1997 there 
was an average of 84 rainy days with a total rainfall of 716.14 mm (East Timor Statistics 
Bureau, 1998, p. 15). Previously, in 1992 the average amount of rainfall was 919.64 mm 
(Tamin, 1992, p. 23). The potential of fertile land in Timor-Leste is found in the 
Bobonaro and Lautem areas with an area of land developed for agriculture is 70,000 
km². Other potential fertile lands are located in Viqueque, Manatuto, Baucau, and 
Ambeno. The potential of the land is suitable for planting food crops, in this case in 
the form of rice and corn. Plantation crops also grow with coffee, coconut, vanilla, 
candlenut, cloves (Costa et al., 2003, p. 4), and sandalwood (Saldanha, 1994, p. 226). 
 
Background of the Implementation of Agricultural Modernization 
The Indonesian government Prior to the 1980s it had attempted to modernize 
agriculture in Timor-Leste. The Indonesian government at that time collaborated with 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engaged in agriculture, namely the East 
Timor Agricultural Development Program (ETADEP), the NGO through the Chatolic 
Relief Service (CRS) which was a continuation of the American aid program, and had 
helped to overcome famine that occurred in Timor-Leste during that period. ETADEP 
has existed in Sare, Ermera Regency since the 1980s. In its efforts to help modernize 
agriculture in Tomor Leste, Etadep has a laboratory in the Sare area. 

In their work, NGOs try to develop farmers to cultivate good paddy fields. They 
introduced the use of tractors to the farming community in Sare. However, the tractor 
introduction program was too early because at that time the illiteracy rate among 
farmers was 95%. With this condition, it can be said that using tractors to cultivate 
paddy fields is considered too early. Another difficulty is that farmers in Sare still find 
it difficult to speak Indonesian, while the instructors who introduce hand tractors are 
mostly foreigners who only speak English. Therefore, there are great difficulties 
among local farmers when NGOs try to introduce the use of hand tractors and modern 
cultivation methods (Saldanha, 1994, p. 218). 

The agricultural modernization program in Timor-Leste has progressed with the 
placement of transmigration in Timor-Leste in 1982. The central government in this 
case is the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, placing 100 heads of households 
consisting of 433 people to transmigrate to Timor-Leste (Tamin, 1992, p. 231). They 
came from Java and Bali to be placed in several districts in Timor-Leste. The 
transmigrants then transmit their knowledge to local residents around the 
transmigration area. Thus, local farmers indirectly learn new ways of farming for 
transmigrants. One of the districts that has benefited greatly from the above is 
Bobonaro District. Transmigrants stationed in Bobonaro Regency have helped local 
farmers in cultivating agricultural land. 
The majority of transmigrants have experience and knowledge of food crop 
cultivation. One of the knowledge or knowledge transmitted by transmigrants to local 



 
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farmers, is changing the way of plowing the land. Traditional land cultivation requires 
a lot of buffalo, because the buffaloes are only herded to trample the land without 
using any plow. In this case, the soil layer on the agricultural land will naturally feel 
like it has been plowed, because it has been trampled by dozens of buffalos. This 
method changed when the plow was introduced which was placed on the back of the 
buffalo to be pulled to plow agricultural land. The use of the plow is more efficient 
because it only uses two buffaloes to cultivate the rice fields. In addition, the 
production of rice fields that can be harvested up to twice a year, with the support of 
adequate irrigation sources (Interview with Pedro Maudasi Lopes, September 26, 
2019). The transmigrants in Bobonaro have tried to become trainers to teach paddy rice 
farmers in the area, in particular the use of the plow to plow the paddy fields properly. 
One interesting thing is that the process of training a cow or buffalo to pull a plow 
takes 2-3 months, other requirements include; farmers have to bring 3 cows, 1 cow is 
given to the trainer and 2 cows are given training from the trainer with the farmer. 
Furthermore, you can see in the Figure 1. 
 

 
Figure 1. Farmers use Luku cultivator to plow their field  

Source: Suranny, 2014, p. 48. 
 

Based on the picture above, it can be explained that the farmer is learning to plow the 
field using a plow pulled by a cow. The plow blade is made of iron or steel with a 
pointed shape to penetrate into the ground to be plow. In addition, the plow blade 
consists of three-sided steel with the tamping and the cutting plane of the plow blade 
as the flat side. To pull the plow, farmers use tame animals such as buffalo or cows. 
 
Bimas Program in Timor-Leste 
In 1982, there was a massive Bimas program in Timor-Leste. The program was 
considered a period of agricultural modernization, when it was introduced by the 
government by providing subsidies, especially agriculture in the form of production 
infrastructure such as fertilizers, seeds and pesticides. The government also improved 
irrigation in several districts and established Village Unit Cooperatives (KUD) with 
the aim of reducing farmers' costs for purchasing sarprodi through farmer credit. 



 
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Starting from the provision of subsidies, farmers are simultaneously trained to 
cultivate the land with tractor machines, plant in rows, use proper fertilizers and spray 
pesticides properly on crops. The implementation of the Bimas program is carried out 
accompanied by PPL, or extension agents who are very helpful to farmers because 
some farmers lack the motivation to change behavior (van den ban et al., 1999, p. 27). 

Agricultural credit is part of the Bimas Program. The credit is a government 
policy to help farmers obtain Saprodi in order to increase agricultural production. The 
general objective of agricultural credit politics is, of course, to ensure that the use of 
credit available to the agricultural sector can be used as efficiently as possible, which 
means that agricultural credit is able to help increase production and the value of 
agricultural production as high as possible. This goal is a technical-economic goal, but 
seen from agricultural credit, it does not only have a technical-economic objective but 
in the end, it also has other goals such as improving the welfare of farmers and farming 
communities (Mubyarto, 1987, pp. 119-123). 

With the above rationale, the agricultural credit policy was continued even 
though the government stopped the Bimas Program in the 1984/1985 planting season. 
The government then introduced KUT in its implementation, PPL was needed to assist 
farmers participating in KUT in Timor-Leste/Bobonaro in the 1990s. Through the KUT 
Program in Timor-Leste, especially in Bobonaro, it is expected to change the behavior 
of farmers from traditional to modern accompanied by PPL by providing credit. The 
main requirement that must be met by farmers to become members of KUT is to have 
an area of rice fields and be domiciled in the area. The task of a PPL is to establish a 
farmer group with a minimum of 8 group members and a maximum of 15-25 farmers. 
The purpose of KUT in Bobonaro is to help farmers reduce costs and persuade farmers 
to learn how to use a five-farm-based farming system. Provision of five farming 
businesses in KUT in Bobonaro/Maliana includes money, fertilizers, pesticides, seeds 
and tractors. The production facilities, money and tractors can be done on credit after 
harvesting the produce (Interview with Alfredo Soares, October 1, 2019). 

The form of agricultural modernization in Timor-Leste was in the beginning rice 
farmers in their work only use simple equipment, for example in cultivating the fields 
previously only used hoe, shovel, pointed wood, buffalo as a plow and used a simple 
plow pulled by cows/buffaloes.  After the Bimas program was continued with Inmas, 
farmer’s rice fields using a hand tractor, the traditional time for farmers to plant by 
spreading and then replacing it with nurseries. Previously, farmers were not familiar 
with fertilizers and anti-pest drugs. After the Guidance Program, farmers used 
chemical fertilizers and pesticides to increase farm production. Previously, farmers in 
Timor Leste were rainfed farmers, who only expected rainwater to irrigate their fields. 
Through the Bimas Program, patents recognize good irrigated rice fields and water 
pumps to help irrigate their fields. Previously, farmers used their feet to trample the 
cut rice to separate the grains and stalks, with Bimas farmers only collecting rice and 
then threshing it by machine (Selvia et al., 2019, p. 768). 

This happened in Bobonaro during the Bimas program, some farmers did not 
have adequate knowledge and insight for the problems they understood. Some 



 
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farmers in Bobonaro are not familiar with fertilizers, with the government's Guidance 
Program providing assistance to farmers there. The interesting thing is that local 
farmers then take sacks and fertilizers to spill on the ground (Interview with Alfredo 
Soares, October 1, 2019). This is due to their low knowledge due to lack of education, 
experience and cultural factors. With the extension agent, local farmers in Bobonaro 
know how to use chemical fertilizers and anti-pest pesticides. They made 
demonstration plots as examples to farmers so that they can understand how to 
cultivate, plant and harvest and use good and appropriate infrastructure. Therefore, it 
can be said that the Bimas program implemented in Timor-Leste can change farmers 
from traditional to modern. Through the Bimas Program, rice cultivation can be 
carried out twice a year so as to increase agricultural production. In this way, self-
sufficiency in rice was created which occurred around 1986 (Interview with Raul 
Borges, September 9, 2019). 

 
Mass Intensification Program (Inmas) 
Inmas is the same extension facility but without credit. Inmas from the outset includes 
rice fields that meet all the technical requirements of Bimas, among others, technically 
irrigated rice fields or semi-technical irrigated rice fields. However, the farmers are 
considered quite advanced even without credit from the government they still carry 
out a complete business implementation. Furthermore, the conditions that must be met 
for the success of Inmas are that the farmers involved are advanced farmers and are 
willing and able to apply new technologies. 

Basically, in Timor-Leste, the farmers who participate in the Bimas and Inmas 
Programs can be equated. The Bimas and Inmas program in Timor-Leste was initiated 
by the massive implementation of the Bimas that occurred in 1982-1984. One example 
taken from here in particular occurred in Bobonaro. The implementation of the Bimas 
program begins with the provision of subsidies for production facilities from the 
government to farmers. However, farmers are not familiar with production facilities 
such as fertilizers, pesticides and seeds so that in its implementation various obstacles 
arise. The reason is that the majority of Timor-Leste's farmers are classified as field 
farmers, only a small number of rice farmers with traditional processing methods. 
Important changes emerged when Bimas was discontinued and gradually replaced by 
KUT. In the KUT program, PPLs are involved to enter the countryside to provide 
demonstration plots (demplots) to farmers. Through Demplot, farmers get an example 
of how to cultivate rice fields in a modern way. The interesting thing is that the Demplot 
in the KUT was only established in Bobonaro Regency, especially the Maliana sub-
district (Interview with Alfredo Soares, October 1, 2019). Other agricultural 
development efforts have been carried out by the government by building irrigation 
networks (Interview with Juliao Boumali, September 25, 2019). In the next stage, when 
East Timorese farmers are getting to know the modern agricultural cultivation system, 
they are entering the Inmas program. In the program, farmers get credit not in the form 
of cash, but directly in the form of production infrastructure. The farmers involved in 
Inmas are farmers who have implemented five farming businesses in their cultivation 



 
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system. 
 
Adoption of SRI and ICM during the Timor-Leste Period 
In 2007, the agricultural modernization implemented in Timor-Leste was organic 
farming, namely Integrated Crop Management (ICM) and the Intensive Design System 
(SRI), but SRI has been implemented during the Indonesian period even though it is 
only a side activity for farmers, so that the independence period for some farmers has 
ended. familiar with the application of SRI technology (Alberto Amaral. 10 October 
2019). Timor-Leste implemented ICM and SRI in 2007, the training session was carried 
out by the ministry of agriculture and fisheries in collaboration with the German NGO, 
German Technical Cooperation (GTC). The difference between ICM and SRI lies in the 
method of plant cultivation, namely the spacing, for ICM if transplants are carried out 
on infertile or poor soil, the distance between rice planted is only 20 cm, if the soil is 
fertile, the spacing is 25 cm (Ogoshi et al., 2008, p. 6). While SRI, the distance of rice 
plants in a square pattern with a minimum distance of 20x20 with the aim that all rice 
leaves remain photosynthetically active (Noltze et al., 2012, p. 65). 

Timor-Leste does not produce enough rice to meet local demand. Therefore, 
every year Timor-Lese has to import rice from abroad, one of which is Thailand and 
Vietnam, around 65,000 tons. Although Timor-Leste has a potential rice field area of 
approximately 196,312.22 ha. However, the productivity of lowland rice only reaches 
an average of 2.5 tons/hectare. It was against this background that new rice cultivation 
methods were tried. This method is known as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), 
which is an innovation in rice cultivation in Timor Leste. This method was first 
introduced in two districts namely Bobonaro and Viqueque in Timor-Leste in 2002 
with the support of the government to promote SRI. In a further development in 2007, 
the implementation of SRI coincided with the village development program in Timor-
Leste (RDPII). The implementation of SRI is in conjunction with the Deutsche 
Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and the Timor-Leste Ministry of 
Agriculture and Fisheries (MAP). Implementation of promotion of SRI production, 
with the aim of increasing domestic rice production and being able to account for the 
growing demand for food because the population of Timor-Leste is always increasing 
(Soares et al., n.d., p. 2). 

There are similarities between SRI and ICM, namely the reduced number of seeds 
used in rice cultivation. This means that the cost of buying seeds is also reduced. Before 
the ICM and SRI methods were used, the rice seeds needed for breeding reached 30-
40kg/hectare. With the ICM and SRI methods it only takes 10-15kg/hectare, with the 
same production results. Another benefit is that the Government of Timor-Leste can 
reduce imports of fertilizers and pesticides from abroad (Interview with Afonso da 
Conceicao, August 19, 2019). The ICM nursery model is always carried out with mat 
media, not directly on the ground. Nurseries are always spread with palm leaves 
which serve as fertilizer and then covered with banana leaves to avoid damage from 
birds. Therefore, this system is considered less effective for farmers because it takes 
extra effort to create and control the natural composition. The ICM model (Figure 2), 



 
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Implementation of Modern Agricultural Food System in Timor-Leste, 1982-2007          | 55 

on the other hand, is difficult to apply in dry paddy fields, which in fact constitute the 
majority of land types in Timor-Leste (Ogoshi et al., 2008, p. 3). 
 

 
Figure 2. Example of ICM and SRI Nurseries 

Source: Ogoshi et al., 2008, p. 6. 
 

The disadvantage of the ICM and SRI methods is that it takes a lot of work and 
time to collect animal waste for breeding. On the other hand, ICM and SRI are suitable 
for lowland rice fields with permanent irrigation. The ICM and SRI methods of water 
use control must be strict, because rice must be maintained so as not to experience 
excess or lack of water. In other words, rice plants must be in a wet soil condition and 
control is carried out every time and permanently (Interview with Longuinhos John, 
August 26, 2019). One advantage of the ICM and SRI methods is the reduced use of 
artificial fertilizers. Under these conditions, East Timorese farmers are lazy to apply 
the two technologies. In other words, East Timorese farmers continue to use the rice 
cultivation model as taught by the Indonesian government. Therefore, until the second 
decade of the XXI century Timor-Leste has not implemented granary and rice self-
sufficiency. 
 
Conclusions 
Agricultural modernization is part of social change in society, therefore every 
agricultural modernization program must pay attention to the community as the 
culprit. The success of the Agricultural Modernization Program must be supported by 
the condition of the community, in this case the farmers as the perpetrators. The 
introduction of various agricultural modernization programs followed by the use of 
various agricultural technologies will not be accepted by farmers, if their socio-cultural 
conditions do not change. In the sense that farmers as actors in agricultural 
modernization activities must be empowered first, starting from recognizing various 
new cultivation methods, agricultural technology, to using production inputs to 
support the success of the Agricultural Modernization Program. At the same time, 
there must be an increase in skills as well as expertise for farmers as actors in 
agricultural modernization. This last factor is often overlooked because most, if not 
almost all, of the Agricultural Modernization Program are top-down activities. The 



 
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program comes from the government without paying attention to the condition of the 
community as the perpetrators. With this background, it can be understood that the 
Agricultural Modernization Program is always good in concept, but always almost 
falls apart at the implementation stage. 

Another factor is environmental conditions, in the sense of the geographical 
nature that exists in the community. The existing geographic environment must 
support the implementation of the Agricultural Modernization Program. In many 
cases, because the Agricultural Modernization Program is top-down, it often does not 
pay attention to social conditions and the natural environment. In this case, there is a 
thought among decision makers at the top level, that what is planned is good, 
regardless of the condition of the community and the natural environment that will be 
the perpetrators of the activity. These factors have then caused various kinds of 
Agricultural Modernization Programs to fail. The decision makers at the top level only 
think that what is theoretically planned is the best, regardless of the conditions of 
society and nature. One of the failure factors in implementing agricultural 
modernization in Timor Leste is the unfavorable geographical environment. The 
Agricultural Modernization Program run by the Government of Indonesia, through 
Bimas, requires a very good rice field environment. In the sense that the Bimas 
Program in its implementation requires rice fields with a technical irrigation system. 
This is needed because the rice grown in the Bimas Program requires regular and 
controlled irrigation water. This condition clearly cannot be met by Timor's natural 
environment. 

The agricultural modernization program carried out in Timor Leste, both Bimas 
and the various modernization programs that followed, as well as activities carried 
out by the Government of Timor Leste and NGOs from Germany, German Technical 
Cooperation (GZT) with the Integrated Crop Management (ICM) program and the 
Intensive Design System (SRI). The three agricultural modernization programs did not 
work as expected, because the East Timorese farmers as the perpetrators of the 
activities did not have a social and cultural background that could support the success 
of the program. In this case, the agricultural modernization program must have the 
support of the socio-cultural conditions of the community as actors in the 
modernization program. A clear example of this is the ignorance of East Timorese 
farmers about the use and use of chemical fertilizers in rice cultivation. Due to the lack 
of knowledge of East Timorese farmers, they just pour chemical fertilizers into their 
rice fields. East Timorese farmers do not know how to use chemical fertilizers. There 
are several stages that must be done by farmers to use chemical fertilizers. This was 
not done by Timor Leste farmers, as a result, the yield of rice cultivation in Timor Leste 
did not increase much even though the Bimas Program had been implemented in 
Timor Leste. 

The cultural condition of the community is an equally important factor. The 
failure of the Government of Timor Leste's Cooperation Program with the German 
NGO, German Technical Cooperation (GZT) through the Integrated Crop 
Management (ICM) and Intensive Design System (SRI) program clearly shows the 



 
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unpreparedness of East Timorese farmers to carry out various types of work in an 
effort to increase agricultural production. With their traditional mentality, East 
Timorese farmers consider that the various jobs that farmers have to do in the 
Integrated Crop Management (ICM) and Intensive Design System (SRI) programs are 
too many. They are not ready to do a variety of jobs on farms that are not known before. 
Therefore, there is an assumption that East Timorese farmers are too lazy to carry out 
various types of work in the new rice cultivation method according to the Integrated 
Crop Management program. The fact is that farmers do not yet have the mental 
readiness to carry out new cultivation methods in growing rice in accordance with the 
direction of the Integrated Crop Management (ICM) and Intensive Design System 
(SRI). 

By above situation, what should be done in carrying out the Agricultural 
Modernization Program is that farmers must be mentally prepared so that they can 
participate in various activities according to program directions. One interesting thing 
has been done by the KUT Program, namely by involving PPLs to assist farmers to 
participate in the program. The PPLs are not only tasked with helping farmers get to 
know various types of new agricultural tools and new technologies in rice cultivation. 
However, the task of assisting farmers participating in the program is to prepare 
proposals to obtain agricultural credit assistance. PPL helps farmers determine how 
much credit they need to buy fertilizers, pesticides, or living costs. One of the successes 
of KUT comes from the success of PPL in assisting farmers in carrying out agricultural 
modernization programs. 
 
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