This case examines the challenges of implementing a rice production policy in a country with multiple, sometimes conflicting, needs. Timor-Leste, a small Southeast Asian island nation that achieved independence in 2002, had decided to increase domestic rice production rather than increase rice imports. A 2011 20-year Strategic Development Plan called for rice self-sufficiency by 2020. The case asks students to take on the role of a team of policy advisors to the prime minister, tasked with setting the timetable for implementing this ambitious plan.

Use this case to encourage students to examine the implementation challenge through multiple lenses. These include: technical—how to boost agricultural productivity; operational—how to administer programs in institutionally weak settings with poor infrastructure; economic— how to balance the interests of resource-constrained domestic producers against low-income consumers; and political—how to minimize the risk of food shortages, hunger and food riots in the short-term against the goal of long-term food security.

Students can debate whether the adopted policy is the best approach, and what other mix of goals might be feasible/desirable. But they should focus on the reality that confronts Timor-Leste agriculture officials—that parliament and the prime minister have adopted the Strategic Plan rice production goal and it is up to the government to find a realistic way to realize that goal.

The case is suitable for classes about international development, food security, or public sector management.