Press release number: IFAD 12/04

Rome, 24 February 2004 – About 200 000 people living in rural areas on the island of Madagascar will benefit from a new programme designed to maximize crop production and enhance smallholders’ access to vital services and markets.

The USD 28.25 million programme will be financed partly by a USD 14.5 million loan from the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) to the Republic of Madagascar. The loan agreement was signed today at IFAD headquarters by IFAD President Lennart Båge and the Madagascan Ambassador to Italy, Mr Auguste Richard Paraina.

The programme will take place in the predominantly rural province of Toamasina, where close to 90 percent of the population lives below the poverty level – and more than half are considered extremely poor. Most Toamasina residents are farmers with small parcels of land, but smallholders struggle with declining crop yields; poor product quality; falling international prices for some crops; and the inability to demand their fair share in the marketplace.

“Without access to markets and profitable crops, rural incomes will continue to decline and fuel the region’s deprivation,” says IFAD’s Madagascar Country Programme Manager, Mr Francisco David e Silva.

The programme will help improve smallholders’ crop yields by intensifying current production methods and introducing more high-yield export crops, like coffee, spices and essential oils. In addition to this agricultural component, the programme will work to restore links between rural producers and markets by building partnerships between organized smallholders and larger private sector operators. “But better market access needs to be accompanied by better access to transportation, technologies, materials, and financial and agricultural services if smallholders are going to increase productivity and generate surpluses,” says Mr David e Silva. The programme will aim to improve the region’s declining infrastructure.

Community involvement is another key element of the programme. “One of the overarching objectives of the programme is to help communities take responsibility for their own development,” says Mr David e Silva. “We believe that including beneficiaries in the programme’s planning and implementation will not only help contribute to the programme’s success but ensure that interventions respond to smallholder interests and priorities.”

With this project, IFAD will have financed 11 projects in Madagascar, totaling USD 331.77 million.

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IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries. Since 1978, IFAD has financed 653 projects and programmes in 115 countries and territories for a total commitment of approximately USD 8.1 billion. Through these projects and programmes, about 250 million rural people have been supported in their efforts to overcome poverty.