IFAD in Madagascar

Since 1979, IFAD has funded 13 rural development projects in Madagascar for a total of US$156.9 million. Four of these projects are still running (the Upper Mandraré Basin Development Project [PHBM], the Rural Income Promotion Programme [PPRR], the Project to Support Development in the Menabe and Melaky Regions [AD2M], the Programme of Support for Rural Microenterprise Poles and Regional Economies [PROSPERER]) and the Support Project for Farmers’ Organizations and Agricultural Service Centres [OP/CSA/FDA]).

The objective of IFAD’s interventions as defined in the Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) for 2007-2012 is to stimulate the economic development of the country’s poorest and most densely populated regions by ensuring that the most disadvantaged producers participate in the growth of the rural sector. IFAD will support the Government in optimizing the potential of vulnerable zones and integrating them into poles of regional and national growth, while setting the priorities of the rural poor at the heart of its interventions.

IFAD’s strategy for 2007-2012 has the following three main thrusts:

• Establishment of management mechanisms for risks associated with production and the land tenure system by improving the access of the poor to resources and services
• Improvement of poor farmers’ income through diversification of agricultural activities, development of rural microenterprises and improved market access
• Professionalization of poor producers and their organization so as to include them in economic development and policy dialogue

At the end of the 1970s, the main objective of IFAD’s programmes and projects was to increase agricultural production, especially that of irrigated rice and livestock, and to ensure rural inhabitants’ food self-sufficiency. The approach entailed rehabilitating rural infrastructure (roads and irrigation systems) and training the inhabitants in irrigation techniques. Starting in 1983, IFAD established itself in the highlands, a densely populated region, in order to boost training services and reintroduce agricultural credit. Lastly, since the 1990s projects have moved out into less densely populated regions such as the midwest and south, with the aim of diversifying agricultural production, increasing rice production, developing new zones in order to reduce population pressure on the central highlands, and helping to create farmers’ organizations.

Current projects are more sectorally based and focus on strengthening farmers’ organizations, increasing poor people’s access to rural credit, improving market access and boosting production. The three projects now running are:

• The Project to Support Development in the Menabe and Melaky Regions (AD2M) on the west coast, which locally implements the Government’s reform of the land-use rights and titling system, combining such action with interventions to optimize production at the regional level
• The Rural Income Promotion Programme (PPRR) on the east coast, which has the aims of improving small producers’ access to markets by strengthening commodity chains, and helping them to capitalize on their produce through partnership contracts
• The Upper Mandraré Basin Development Project – Phase II (PHBM), which has the aim of boosting food production in part of the dry region of the far south and helping to strengthen the food security of rural inhabitants and improve their living conditions

A fourth and fifth project are currently being prepared: the Programme of Support for Rural Microenterprise Poles and Regional Economies (PROSPERER) and the Support Project for Farmers’ Organizations and Agricultural Service Centres (OP/CSA/FDA).

See also:

• Country strategic opportunities programme

Source: IFAD

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Voir la version française Ongoing IFAD operations 5 Support to Farmers’ Professional Organizations and Agricultural Services Project 4 Support Programme for the Rural Microenterprise Poles and Regional Economies (PROSPERER) 3 Project to Support Development in the Menabe and Melaky Regions 2 Rural Income Promotion Programme 1 Upper Mandrare Basin Development Project - Phase II Facts and figures Projects: 13 Total cost: US$448.4 million IFAD loan: US$156.9 million Directly benefiting: 526,600 households   Contact information Mr Benoît Thierry Country programme manager IFAD Via Paolo Di Dono, 44 00142 Rome, Italy Tel: +39 0654592234 Fax: +39 0654593234 b.thierry@ifad.org Mr Haingo Rakotondratsima IFAD liaison c/o MAEP Anosy 101 Antananarivo, Madagascar Tel: +261 320701203 Fax: +261 320801203 h.rakotondratsima@ifad.org