Addressing energy poverty and improving food security

Mercy Corps has worked in Timor-Leste since 2005 addressing the root causes of poverty in this conflict-affected nation. Indonesia’s occupation of Timor-Leste from 1975 - 1998 was marked by violence (over 100,000 lives were lost) and resulted in large-scale destruction of economic infrastructure. Since gaining independence in 2002, this island nation with a population of 1,066,582 continues to struggle with extreme poverty and slow rebuilding efforts. 80% of the population relies on agriculture for food and income but most families in rural areas are only able to produce enough food to last 8 months of the year. As a result, levels of chronic malnutrition are extremely high, particularly among children under 5. Timor-Leste is also plagued by energy poverty with only a small percentage of the population having access to electricity.

Improving Energy Access
In May 2011 Mercy Corps began implementing a three-year €1.43 million program funded by the European Commission (EC), addressing energy poverty in Timor-Leste with a focus on lighting and cooking fuel needs while incorporating natural resource management and climate change adaptation.

Existing electrical infrastructure in Timor-Leste is fragile and underdeveloped. Town power supplies are characterized by poorly maintained diesel generators and unreliable access to fuel. With only 20% of the island’s population having access to reticulated power, individual households resort to using kerosene lanterns and candles for lighting. The high cost of kerosene is a huge burden for rural households representing 25% of average monthly household income for the majority of families. For cooking, an estimated 95% of rural and peri-urban households use inefficient, open wood-fuelled fires. This has resulted in severe degradation of forests in many areas of the country leaving populations vulnerable to floods and landslides.

Traditional three stone fires are inefficient, environmentally unsustainable, and pose a health risk. Photo: Mercy Corps

The Energy for All (E4A) program aims to facilitate access to alternative sources of energy and renewable sources of fuel in three rural and peri-urban districts of Timor-Leste through sustainable market-driven approaches. The program is working in 15 vulnerable communities to provide solar lanterns and fuel-efficient stoves to 4,500 households. Community solar projects will provide power supply at the village level for social, health and educational purposes. Agro-forestry plantations will also be developed and managed with community involvement to provide a sustainable source of fuel and to mitigate the impacts of erosion. The final aim of the project is to ensure replication and extension of the project by the Timor-Leste Secretary of State for Energy Policy.

Increasing Incomes and Improving Food Security
The major causes of food insecurity in Timor-Leste are the widespread practice of subsistence agriculture combined with the lack of alternative sources of income necessary to counter agriculture’s low productivity. Over 80% of the population relies on agriculture for both food and income, leaving them vulnerable to shocks.

Since early 2009, Mercy Corps has been addressing the root causes of low agricultural productivity through the Sustainable Crop Production, Utilization, and Resource Management Program (SECURE). This four-year, €1.3 million, EC funded program aims to strengthen the technical and managerial capacity of local authorities and NGOs, district level ministries, and extension workers to take proactive roles in identifying and implementing food security needs. By project end, 4,500 farmers will receive technical support from extension workers and 2,700 farmers will have improved irrigation and storage systems. These farmer households will gain improved household resource management skills through trainings and the formation of women’s groups. By improving access to markets and providing processing equipment and training, the project expects 30% of targeted households to have increased income from crop sales.

A new variety of Maize crop provided by Mercy Corps yields up to three times more than traditional varieties. Photo: Mercy Corps

Seed access and storage dynamics play a pivotal role in the poverty cycle in Timor-Leste: yields from staple crops of maize and rice decrease continuously due to the use of farm-saved seed which is vulnerable to rot, mould, and insect and rodent infestations. Lower seed quality and production combined with poor market access, reduces incomes and prohibits farmers from purchasing improved quality seed. In August, 2011, Mercy Corps received funding from USAID to introduce appropriate and effective post-harvest storage systems through a sustainable, market-based approach. The program will research and pilot systems and then train local blacksmiths/ tinsmiths to produce solutions for sale to farmers. The Effective Seed Storage program will fill a critical gap in the on-going SECURE program while benefiting from established relationships with farmers and the Ministry of Agriculture.

The fisheries sector in Timor-Leste is very under- developed yet has huge potential as a source of income and nutrition for vulnerable families. With funding from the Faroese Government, Mercy Corps carried out a study of the marine fisheries and aquaculture sector and, based on recommendations, is piloting projects in two districts.

Measuring Social Performance of Micro-Finance Institutes
The Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI), developed by the Grameen Foundation, is a simple inexpensive social performance measurement tool that consists of country-specific, non-financial indicators such as family size, number of children attending school and type of housing. The PPI will enable Timor-Leste MFIs to monitor the poverty status of their clients over time and determine whether the services they are providing actually helps lift people out of poverty.

In December, 2010, Mercy Corps, with funding from the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), began implementing the PPI project in Timor-Leste. The PPI tool has now been developed and is currently being piloted with two MFIs in Timor-Leste.

By the end of this two-year project, Timor-Leste MFIs will have adopted the tool nationally, have the ability to determine whether the services provided are alleviating poverty and provide more relevant products for the Timorese population.