‘Timor-Leste is a land of opportunity’ says Gabriel Amaral, 27, a horticulture consultant living in Dili.

In 2016, Gabriel returned to Timor-Leste after studying horticulture in Queensland, Australia. Gabriel had a strong desire to work in his home country. Upon returned to Timor-Leste, Gabriel became inspired to develop his own business using his horticulture knowledge.

Gabriel was conscious of the need for Specialist Horticulture knowledge in the agriculture industry. In Timor-Leste, 40% of rural households live below the poverty line. Throughout the rural areas, although traditional knowledge of farming practises is exceptional, farmers experience several difficulties.

Among them, is a lack information about the correct amount of nutrients or pesticides to use. They usually struggle to receive a fair share of profits from various ‘middle men’ who enable the farmers. Gabriel noticed that there are no organisations or companies who provide consulting services to farmers, which affects farmers specific knowledge.

‘In Timor, farmers have little understanding of soil nutrients. They know that the health of the soil is important, but they don’t understand how to maintain macro and micro nutrients. Furthermore, business management skills, such as financial management and marketing is difficult for rural households.  To maximise profits, farmers should be able to calculate costs adequately.’ Says Gabriel.

Gabriel heard about the Knua Juventude Fila-Liman Centre through his good friend, Jomat, who he met volunteering for ‘Youth for Human Rights’ and recommended the Knua Centre. Gabriel soon met Tennant Fenton, a marketing research and development specialist working at the Knua Centre. Tennant was very interested in organising work for Gabriel, who he knew has specialty horticulture knowledge.

‘Tennant is a great man and helped me to get work. He brought me some samples of soil which came from a strawberry farm in Ululefa, Maubisse. I used the soil and tested it. Tennant helped me to get exposure to international organisations through this work.’ Says Gabriel.

Tennant worked at the Knua Centre and tried to mobilise Gabriel to connect to the private sector and international organisations so that he could promote his work. In 2018, an international organisation, TOMAK, hired Gabriel for consulting services for 15 days. TOMAK is a program supported by the Australian government. TOMAK aims to mobilise farming families and connect them to the private sector.

Gabriel was hired as a consultant to perform soil samples and make recommendations for the correct nutrients required by the soil. His information enabled farmers to learn how their produce could be the highest quality. Gabriel is passionate to focus on supporting individual farmers in future.

The Knua Centre has helped Gabriel to develop a business map for possible future consulting services. Gabriel has travelled to many restaurants in Dili to identify what is missing from their fruit and vegetable supplies. He realised that most restaurants are buying importing herbs due to inconsistent supplies of herbs to restaurants in Dili.

Gabriel is working on a plan to start up his own herb-farm. Gabriel is focussing on organising how to invest his money, so his business is successful.

‘I want to build networks. I need to think wisely about where to invest. I want to enable farmers to understand and be able to work effectively’ he says.

Gabriel believes that agriculture in Timor-Leste can stimulate many different sectors, such as tourism, and prompt economic diversification. This economic diversification can positively increase youth employment and engagement in Timor-Leste.