ANTANANARIVO -In Madagascar, the South-West Region Agricultural Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project, funded by the African Development Bank [AfDB], has provided a new boost to agriculture, resulting in enhanced farmers’ incomes, according to the project completion report.
The project recorded significant achievements: increased production, rehabilitated lowlands, strengthened value chains, and others.
The African Development Fund, the concessional lending window of the AfDB Group, funded the project with US$ 25.02 million. The Nigeria Trust Fund, one of the three entities of the Bank Group, contributed US$ 9.49mln and the Global Environment Facility, a multi-donor fund administered by the bank, contributed US$ 5.9mln.
The project, implemented between 2013 and 2021, saw rice yields in the Bas-Mangoky farming area increase from 3.1 to 5.3 tonnes per hectare. The Ranozaza and Bezaha farming areas now produce 3 tonnes of rice per hectare, compared to 2.4 tonnes previously. Lima bean yields have reached 1.2 tonnes per hectare, compared to 0.6 tonnes ten years ago.
This boost in yields helped raise the average income of farmers from US$ 415.67 in 2014 to US$ 478.04 in 2021.
“The Madagascar government’s collaboration with the African Development Bank has borne fruit and the operation has boosted agricultural productivity and raised farmers’ incomes in the South-West region of Madagascar. The South-West region is a rice granary for the country and will be the main supplier of the Tulear agro-industrial park, which is being built with financing from the Bank,” said Adam Amoumoun, the bank’s Country Manager in Madagascar.
The project entails building major canals in Bezaha and Ranozaza, with 37 kilometres of roads and providing 14,190 hectares of irrigated land. A 40 km protective dike was rehabilitated in the Bas-Mangoky area to prevent floods.
It also provided protective grassing for several hectares of land against floods and erosion. The project also helped develop climate-resilient pre-basic seeds and assisted farmers in adopting resilient agricultural practices. It also fostered improved land management. At least 75 percent of the region’s farmers now have land titles.
The report notes: “The Manombo Ranozaza farming area has become accessible at all seasons, making it possible to haul produce to the local market or the city of Tulear without any major constraints,” concludes the document.
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