Timor Leste, Indonesia Strengthen Cooperation in Agriculture Sector

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Agriculture Ministry has strengthened cooperation in the agriculture sector with Timor Leste's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Forestry (MALFF).

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Harvick Hasnul Qolbi on Friday, November 24, 2023, said that his ministry is committed to maintaining the quality of agricultural commodities through the provision of various types of assistance such as coaching, certification, and food safety guarantees.

The guarantee has been proven by the acceptance of Indonesian livestock products, especially poultry, in several countries such as Singapore, Japan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and most recently, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to him.

"This is a form of our commitment to support Indonesia as a world food barn in 2045. We hope that Timor Leste can participate as well," he added.

As per data recorded by Statistics Indonesia (BPS), agricultural trade in Indonesia and Timor Leste experienced positive growth this year, with the export volume growing 8 to 11 percent compared to 2022.

Indonesia's agricultural exports to Timor Leste include wheat, soybeans, green beans, tomatoes, oranges, sugar, milk, feed, and poultry products, Qolbi noted.

Meanwhile, its agricultural imports from Timor Leste comprise vanilla, coconut, coffee, cloves, peanuts, porang, and leather.

Meanwhile, Junior Minister of Animal Husbandry of Timor Leste Jose Vieira de Aradjo said that the cooperation of the two countries in the agricultural sector, especially animal husbandry, has been intact for a long time and efforts have been made to improve it.

"I hope my country can participate in accepting Indonesian livestock products as well as technology and innovation in the agricultural sector," he said.

In addition, director general of livestock and animal health at the Ministry of Agriculture, Nasrullah, said that cooperation between Indonesia and Timor Leste has long been established to ensure sustainable food supply in both countries, especially in the livestock sector.

The cooperation between the two countries has been realized based on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on July 19, 2022.

"A technical arrangement (TA), which regulates more details of the MoU, was also signed on September 26, 2022," he added.

His ministry is also coordinating cooperation to provide vaccination for rabies and foot and mouth disease (FMD) to control animal diseases in Timor Leste.

Deputy Minister Qolbi received a visit from a delegation from Timor Leste in Jakarta on Thursday (November 23, 2023).

The Timor Leste entourage also carried out an onsite import risk analysis (IRA) at the poultry business unit of PT. Super Unggas Jaya (SUJA) in Kuningan district, West Java. After the IRA process is completed, PT SUJA will be able to export its products to Timor Leste.

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