Transforming Agricultural Oversight in Timor-Leste: Surveys, Rapid Data Response and Campaign Innovations

The MAF of Timor-Leste launched a transformative initiative to enhance agricultural productivity and planning through the Sustainable Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project (SAPIP). Supported by a USD 21 million grant from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), the project aimed to improve smallholder farmers' productivity. Despite significant progress achieved since Timor-Leste's independence, the country continued to face significant human resource capacity constraints and a recognized need for a decentralized approach across all government institutions, including the MAF. The latter, in particular, requires accurate information on its activities and evidence-based analysis of its performance and the outcomes of the programmes it oversees. To address these challenges, the Government of Timor-Leste sought assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to develop an evidence-based Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) System as a sub-component of the SAPIP. The system integrated planning, monitoring and reporting, using data-driven tools for decision-making. The project concluded successfully in December 2023, establishing sustainable, evidence-based agricultural management.