Partnership for Aquaculture Development in Timor-Leste: Looking back, looking forward

In 2012, the National Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture (NDFA), Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) Timor-Leste, developed the National Aquaculture Development Strategy (NADS) 2012–2030 with technical assistance from WorldFish. The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (NZ MFAT) provided funding to support implementation of NADS through the Partnership for Aquaculture Development in Timor-Leste (PADTL) project (2014–2019). The five-year project, led by WorldFish and implemented with the National Directorate of Aquaculture (NDA), focused largely on pond culture of tilapia in Ermera, Baucau and Bobonaro municipalities. The project adopted a holistic, multi-pronged strategy to strengthen four interrelated aspects of the tilapia production chain: seed, feed, practices and extension. The PADTL project has laid a sound foundation for the expansion of tilapia farming in Timor-Leste for the 2nd phase (2020–2023) to facilitate the scaling of aquaculture in Timor-Leste. The 2nd phase has three major focal areas: increased availability, increased accessibility and increased consumption of fish.