Mikama - Jul 24, 2015

Fanjanarivo dans La Gazette de la Grande Ile

Un peu plus de 35 millions de dollars. C’est la valeur des exportations d’huiles essentielles fabriquées à la main pour l’année 2014. (..)  Ainsi, les exportations d’huiles essentielles fabriquées à la main ont été de 26 millions de dollars en 2010 pour dépasser les 40 millions de dollars en 2011. Elles ont été inférieures à 15 millions de dollars en 2012 pour remonter à plus de 30 millions de dollars en 2013.(..) Jusqu’ici, Madagascar n’arrive qu’à satisfaire 1% de la demande internationale. Il faut noter que près de 60% de la production du pays sont exportés sur la France. (..) En effet, seule l’huile de girofle émerge réellement sur la période étudiée. Les autres affichent un tonnage insignifiant. On peut citer le lemon-grass, le vétiver, le géranium, l’ylang-ylang.

Dans All Africa

The Malagasy agricultural sector is characterised by very low performance in terms of yield - about 2.5 tons per hectare. Rice is the staple food of Malagasy people and the land surface of each farm is very low - in the region of 1.4 hectares per farm. According to statistics from Madagascar's statistics body, INSTAT, about 80 percent of the population resides in rural areas, where agriculture is the main source of income.

Dans All Africa

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) won a 'best sustainable development practise in food security' award for its work promoting the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Madagascar. (..) The SRI methodology helps to substantially increase rice production and reduces water consumption by an average of 40 percent and in some cases as much as 85 percent. It relies on a significant reduction in the use of seed and can cost little or nothing to adopt.

Hou Qiang dans Africa News China

Like other rice farmers in Madagascar, 19-year old Patrick Razanakoto is hopeful of increasing his rice yield after using Chinese hybrid rice seeds. (..) Razanakoto has rented three hectares from Matagri, a company that popularizes Chinese hybrid rice dubbed Weichu-903. It rents land to farmers in Ambatondrazaka, gives them seeds and fertilizers and also buys their paddy. According to Andre Ranaivoson, the head of Matagri, the company deals with two categories of farmers, with the first category comprising farmers with their own piece of land and the second comprising those who are facilitated with everything, starting with land. "We give them seeds, equipments and money. After the harvest, both parties calculate their cost of production and deduct it from the profits," Ranaivoson said. He said whereas one hectare of land will require 26 kg of hybrid seeds, it can produce between 8 to 12 tons of hybrid rice after 152 days of cultivation. (..) Rice is the staple food in Madagascar. According to statistics from the National Instute of Statistics (INSTAT), most Malagasy households eat rice three times a day while a Malagasy consumes an average of 114 kg of rice per year. INSTAT notes that the country currently produces only 5.9 million tons of rice per year, which is below the required quantity for 22 million Madagascans.