Across Timor‑Leste, the future of agriculture hinges on whether young people see a place for themselves in the sector. For years, rural youth have migrated to Dili or overseas in search of opportunity, leaving behind an aging farming population and weakening the resilience of local food systems. With 56.4% of the population below 25 years old, the challenge is not simply attracting youth back to the land – it is transforming agriculture into a viable, modern, climate‑smart pathway that young people want to choose.
To’os ba Moris Di’ak (TOMAK) or Farming for Prosperity – the Australian Government’s 10-year flagship agriculture and nutrition program in Timor-Leste, delivered by ASI – approached this challenge by strengthening local institutions, partnering with the private sector and universities, and creating the enabling conditions for youth to lead innovation and enterprise themselves.
What we did: Dedicated strategies to engage youth
TOMAK’s approach to youth engagement evolved significantly over the life of the program. A dedicated Youth Strategy was introduced in 2023, grounded in a national Youth in Agriculture Situation Analysis and supported by new resourcing, including a National Youth Specialist. This strategy applied a twin‑track approach: mainstreaming youth inclusion through Savings and Loans Groups (SLGs ) – where youth made up 15% of members – and Farmer Field Schools, while also delivering targeted interventions to professionalise young people in agriculture.
TOMAK created pathways into modern Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices and technology. Young people received hands-on training, mentorship, and support to start new agribusinesses – from commercial production to equipment maintenance. In partnership with The National University of Timor-Leste’s (UNTL) Faculty of Agriculture, TOMAK helped give students professional experience and entrepreneurship opportunities. Many gained confidence, skills and a renewed sense that agriculture could offer a viable future for them. These efforts positioned youth as credible market actors, challenged persistent stigma, and demonstrated that agriculture could be profitable career pathway.
Recognising the private sector as essential for sustainability, TOMAK partnered with the Dili Development Company (DDC) to establish the Rai‑Hun Agriculture Training Centre, a dedicated hub for CSA training. Through this partnership, 32 youth from SLGs received hands‑on training and mentorship to establish new agribusinesses using CSA technologies – either as commercial producers or as Private Agriculture Service Providers (PASPs). A further eight young men were trained in agricultural equipment maintenance in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Forestry (MALFF), helping fill a critical service gap in rural areas.
These targeted investments complemented TOMAK’s broader system strengthening work. The program partnered with the UNTL to embed field experience and business development support into agricultural studies, ensuring youth engagement was institutionalised within national education systems rather than dependent on project funding. Together, these interventions reframed youth engagement entirely: instead of expecting young people to become traditional farmers, TOMAK opened pathways for them to step into modern roles as agripreneurs, service providers, and innovators driving climate‑smart, market-oriented agriculture.
THE RESULTS AND WHY IT MATTERS
- 72 youth formally recognised as PASPs by August 2025 shifting perceptions of youth from “beneficiaries” to legitimate market actors driving rural economic activity.
- 23 agriculture students gained professional field experience, and 11 launched new agribusinesses. These placements and start‑ups created a direct pipeline from tertiary study into real agricultural employment and agripreneurship, helping retain skilled youth in the sector and strengthening the next generation of agricultural professionals.
- The Rai‑Hun Agriculture Training Centre has become a shared platform for youth training, research, and practical learning. The partnership between TOMAK, DDC, and UNTL embedded youth engagement within national/institutional systems, ensuring that practical, market‑oriented training continues beyond project funding.
- Of the 72 PASPs, 32 youth (20 women, 12 men) established climate‑smart agribusinesses through targeted CSA training and mentorship. These young agripreneurs filled real market gaps in inputs, advisory services, and CSA technologies, demonstrating that youth can drive innovation and service provision in rural economies.
- Training youth in agricultural equipment maintenance addressed a critical rural service gap. Machinery repair and maintenance services reduce downtime, increase productivity, and keep essential equipment functioning – improving efficiency and increasing productivity for entire farming communities.
- CSA technologies proved an effective entry point for youth, supported by a 50% co‑funding model, business training, mentorship, and market linkages. This package reduced financial risk, strengthened household support (especially for young women), and created safer, more viable pathways for youth to enter and importantly, sustain their agribusiness.
- Youth in SLGs achieved higher empowerment across all six A‑WEAI[1] subdomains compared to non‑TOMAK youth. Gains in areas like access to and decisions on credit (77% TOMAK youth vs 30% non-TOMAK) and group membership (67% vs 26%) show that youth can rapidly build agency and influence when integrated into inclusive financial and social structures.
- Young women of reproductive age in SLGs achieved higher dietary diversity (50% vs 33% non‑TOMAK). Improved nutrition outcomes among young women signal broader household‑level benefits and reinforce the link between economic empowerment and better health.
- PASPs now deliver a wide suite of services – input supply, produce collection, advisory support, agro‑processing, SLG financial facilitation, and machinery rental/repair. Youth‑led services are expanding the national pool of agricultural service providers, reducing reliance on government extension alone, and strengthening the backbone of local market systems.
- Collaboration with UNTL has brought new knowledge, energy, and visibility to youth agripreneurship. Linking university students with real agribusiness pathways strengthens the talent pipeline, ensures continuity of youth engagement beyond project cycles, and elevates agriculture as a modern, aspirational career.
Youth engagement delivered strong results in a short period, proving that TOMAK’s model can meaningfully bring young people into agriculture when the right conditions are in place. The shift from youth as passive participants to youth as drivers of rural innovation shows what locally led, youth‑led systems change looks like in practice: young people applying climate‑smart agriculture, stepping into real economic roles, and building skills and services that are now embedded in Timorese institutions and markets. By working through universities, private sector partners and community systems, TOMAK has planted the seed for youth agripreneurship to continue well beyond the program. Ultimately, the experience demonstrates that when development programs facilitate rather than deliver, they unlock the leadership and entrepreneurial energy already present in Timor‑Leste’s next generation.
Carlos, Farmer, Meligo, Bobonaro
After graduating in agriculture from UNTL, Maun Carlos returned home determined to keep learning. Through TOMAK’s trainings he adopted improved techniques that helped him expand his shallot plot from 100m² to 700m², recently harvesting around 2,000 kilograms.
With TOMAK’s support he connected to buyers in Dili and Maliana, strengthening his market links. Proud of the partnership with MALFF extension workers, he plans to keep growing shallots while diversifying his crops. He has also registered a new agri‑inputs business, increasing local access to quality inputs for farmers in his community.
Mana Dominica, Small Business Owner, Venilale
Mana Dominica, a young single mother from Venilale, joined her local TOMAK Savings and Loans Group to build a more secure future for her family. Through the group’s training and support, she gained the confidence to start a small trading business – buying vegetables from nearby farmers and reselling them in her community. With her first loan, she expanded her product range, strengthened her financial skills, and began earning a steady income. Today, she manages her business independently, reinvesting her profits, supporting her children, and showing how women and young people can drive local enterprise and opportunity when given the tools to lead.
“I’ve improved my financial management; I track my expenses to calculate profits and set money aside for family needs and savings. I have paid back my initial loan and now simply reinvest my profits to keep my business going forward.
