Most East Timorese farmers grow subsistence food crops and rely almost entirely on them to meet daily food needs. The main staple of corn is grown on small, single-hectare farm plots and eaten twice a day. Weeding is carried out using manual labour.

With low yields from such small plots, farmers struggle to provide enough food for their families from one harvest to the next.
And making matters far worse is the likelihood of a 30 percent reduction in the harvest due to loss and damage caused by rats and weevils. With one crop and one harvest per year, the challenge is there for farmers to protect harvested grain for up to 12 months.

Hanging bunches of corn cobs in trees may protect them from rats but not weevils and so the losses continue and the hunger persists.

Research has shown that the solution – storage in sealed containers – though simple, has been largely unavailable to farmers in East Timor because they could not afford to buy adequate containers.

So, MAF to the rescue! On hearing of the need, MAF has embarked on a program with Drums on Farm Timor (DOFT) to provide 100 used fuel drums per year. After a thorough cleaning by DOFT, each drum is sold and delivered at an affordable price to farmers. It costs about $40 to collect, clean and deliver each drum. A family that can obtain five drums will have more than enough to meet their needs and provide a surplus.

Good quality drums with bungs are rodent-proof and airtight. Rats cannot access grain in sealed containers and weevils cannot live or reproduce without oxygen.”To operate our aircraft in East Timor, MAF needs to import fuel from Australia in good quality 200-litre steel drums,” notes Program Manager Brad Sinclair.

“By donating our empty fuel drums to Drums on Farm Timor to support the improvement of food security for farmers and their families, MAF has found another way of using resources entrusted to us to help the people of East Timor.

“The farmers work hard for their grain, and I’ve enjoyed visiting them and seeing the drums given such a simple but beneficial second life.”

MAF Australia – www.maf.org.au