Release number IFAD/18/08

Rome, 4 March 2008. Cyclone Ivan struck the island of Madagascar destroying crops, livestock and buildings and leaving more than 150,000 people homeless. The eye of the cyclone passed over an IFAD-supported project on the east coast of the island. With a force equal to that of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and winds of over 200 km per hour, Ivan swept across the eastern and central parts of the country, causing widespread destruction.

The cyclone has caused massive and lasting disruption in areas that were both poor and remote. In addition to the men, women and children who have been left homeless, many small farmers have lost their livelihoods. Basic infrastructure such as roads, bridges, schools and health centres has been damaged or destroyed.

"The rice harvest was due to take place shortly," said IFAD country programme manager Benoît Thierry in a report broadcast on CNN. “About 50,000 hectares of rice and more than 100,000 hectares of other crops have been flooded. Fruit and spice trees have been uprooted, vegetable gardens and orchards destroyed, pigs and poultry have perished and fishing communities have lost boats and nets.”

IFAD's Rural Income Promotion Project, launched in 2004, had advanced well and achieved results particularly in improving incomes for small farmers producing spices, fruits and vegetables in two regions of the east coast, from the island of Sainte Marie to the south of Tamatave. The project focuses on strengthening value chains for key agricultural products, with improved market access and linkages to the fair trade system.

Now houses and livelihoods in the area have been destroyed. "It will take many months to rehabilitate the productive capacity of these families," said Thierry.  The IFAD project has issued a preliminary report on the destruction caused by the cyclone and it is continuing to assess the damage. The infrastructure put in place by the IFAD project was fortunately cyclone-proof and survived the impact of Ivan. This will provide an important basis for the recovery effort.

The Government of Madagascar through its Disaster Committee BNGRC has called for international assistance on 22nd February. On 3 March a flash appeal was launched by the United Nations. IFAD is lending its whole-hearted support to this international appeal, which is led by UNOCHA, UNICEF and WFP.

As a rural development agency, IFAD does not deal with emergency humanitarian relief, but it is committed to help rebuild the productive capacity and livelihoods of the rural poor people in the area hit by cyclone Ivan. IFAD’s immediate post-cyclone intervention will focus on providing cereals and vegetable seeds, replanting fruit tree nurseries and repairing irrigation channels, so that farmers can replace lost crops - US$500,000 have been set aside for this objective.

Cyclones are common in Madagascar, but in recent years they have grown in intensity and frequency. Seven cyclones hit the country in 2007 and cyclone Ivan was the worst since the 1980s. This latest disaster provides further proof of climate change and its devastating consequences for the world's poorest communities. IFAD is committed to the design of climate-proof projects and urges other development agencies to do the same.

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IFAD was created 30 years ago to tackle rural poverty, a key consequence of the droughts and famines of the early 1970s. Since 1978, IFAD has invested more than US$10 billion in low-interest loans and grants that have helped more than 300 million very poor rural women and men increase their incomes and provide for their families. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency. It is a global partnership of OECD, OPEC and other developing countries. Today, IFAD supports more than 200 programmes and projects in 84 developing countries.