Timor-Leste is an independent country that occupies the eastern half of Timor Island, the largest island in the Lesser Sunda Islands, which is located at roughly 400 mil distance from the Eastern part of Australia continent. The country includes the enclave of Oecussi, which is located within West Timor (Indonesia) and Atauro and Jaco Islands. It has an area of 14,918 square kilometres and a coastline of 706 kilometers.

It is located between 8° 7' S and 9° 27' S latitudes and 124° 2' E and 127° 20' E longitudes surrounded by Savu Basin in the west, Wetar Basin in the north and Timor Sea in the east and south. The topography is mainly mountainous with slopes ranges from 10 to 45 degree with the highest point in the country being the Mount Ramelau found at approximately 2950 meter above sea level.

The population of Timor-Leste as per the 2010 census is 1,066,582. The majority of the population is aged between 0–19 years of age with slightly more males than females. A larger proportion (70.4 percent) of the population is living in rural areas, the majority of which are engaged in farming for their livelihoods.

In the global Human Development Report 2013, Timor-Leste was ranked 134th out of 187 countries with a Human Development Index (HDI) value of 0.576. Life expectancy at birth has risen from 56 years in 2000 to 62 years in 2010. Primary school enrolment has reached 90 percent, while under-5 mortality has been reduced to the extent that it has become an early achiever of the MDG4 target. Important milestones have been achieved in furthering gender equality, including its identification by the Government as a priority for realizing national development goals. Women’s representation in national politics is the highest in Asia, at 38 percent.

Economically, since independence Timor-Leste has achieved considerable progress in improving livelihoods, alleviating poverty and improving the social conditions of its people. Economic growth, though heavily dependent on oil revenue, has been strong, averaging more than 10 percent per year since 2007. The country’s non-oil Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown even faster, mainly driven by public spending, especially on infrastructure. Thus, the Government is committed to accelerating progress in the agriculture, tourism and petroleum industries to build a strong and diversified economy.

Despite the Government’s recognition of the importance of agriculture and the requisite investment needed in the sector, the Government recognizes that food production has not met with the pace of population growth. Timor-Leste is still a net food importer, and physical and economic access to food remains a challenge. Household food and nutrition security levels are far from satisfactory (MAF Strategic Plan 2014–2020). Recent statistics show that at least 62 percent of rural households (particularly farmers) experience one to four months of food shortages annually (MAF, 2013).

Consequently, the country’s undernourishment rate is ranked one of the highest in the region, particularly in children under the age of five. The Government of Timor-Leste recently conducted a nutrition survey and the preliminary findings show that the malnutrition rate of children under-five has slightly declined. In the past three years, stunting has been reduced from 58.1 to 51.9 percent, wasting from 18.6 to 10.8 percent and underweight from 44.7 to 38.1 percent. The same malnutrition indicators were also reportedly declining in children under two years of age.