Agricultural and rural trajectory of Madagascar ___________ Presentation of Mr. Alain PIERRE BERNARD

1. MADAGASCAR I Agricultural and rural trajectory of Madagascar ___________ Presentation of Mr. Alain PIERRE BERNARD M’Bour, Senegal 11 to 13 April 2006

2. Plan 1- Main structural characteristics of the agriculture sector 2- Evolution of agricultural and rural policies 3- Perception of the big challenges

3. 1. Main structural characteristics of the agricultural sector • 50% of Madagascan population is under 20 years-old • 73% of Madagascan population: rural • Primary sector: 34 % of GDP • Rural population concentrated in certain geographic areas: • - Areas of land saturation (High Lands) • - Areas potentially exploitable but very little exploited.

4. 1. Main structural characteristics of the agricultural sector • Big diversity of activities in the Island: • - Food-producing cultures (Rice: everywhere) • - Tropical cultures (Coffee, Vanilla, Litchi…: coastal areas) • - Temperate cultures (vegetables and fruits…:High lands) • - Extensive farming • - Fisheries.

5. 1. Main structural characteristics of the agriculture sector • Low productivity: • - Technical problems • - Low input use • - Non-compliance with norms • - Low mechanization • Agriculture is often little monetarized in the inner country.

6. 1. Main structural characteristics of the agriculture sector • 50% of exports and 9% of imports • Main exports :

7. 2. Evolution of agricultural and rural policies • Different periods : • Beginning of the 1970s: nationalization • Mid-1980s: reforms with the process of structural adjustment • Beginning of 1990s: liberalization and disengagement of the State • PNDR in DSRP 2003 • Vision Madagascar naturellement and MAP • Decentralization

8. 2. Evolution of agricultural and rural policies • Past and current processes of structural changes: • Processes of structural adjustment in Madagascar • Trade liberalization • Export sector liberalization • Foreign exchange liberalization • Foreign and home trade liberalization • Pursuit of foreign exchange liberalization (WTO, SADC, COMESA) • Existence of preferential markets (APE, AGOA…)

9. 2. Evolution of agricultural and rural policies • Past and current processes of structural changes: • Impacts of the processes • Increase of consumer prices without an improvement of the producer prices (except for the rice) • Diversification of agricultural products • Drop of the place agreed for the traditional export cultures • Emergence of non traditional export products (fishing products, essential oils, fruits, vegetables…)

10. 2. Evolution of agricultural and rural policies • Role of Donors: • Financial support in the process of structural adjustment (WB, IMF, EU…) • Technical and financial assistances (EU, AFD, SCAC, CTHA, CTHT, USAID, BAMEX...) • Development of commercial partnerships (AGOA…)

11. 2. Evolution of agricultural and rural policies • Local actors: • Government: current reflection a driving schema for the development of the agricultural sector - PPIC – LPDR – MCA … • Regions: regional plans for development (PRD built in the PRDR) – Communal Plan for Development (PCD)- Program ACORDS… • Financial institutions: BOA, BNI, OTIV, CECAM, CIDR, ICAR…

12. 2. Evolution of agricultural and rural policies • Several intervening parties: • Producers • Merchants with the intermediate parties • Indirect actors: various associations (portage of information, production of seeds…) • Authorities: technical services decentralized in regions, communes • Consumers • Peasants organizations, NGOs, Projects, Researchers…

13. 3. Perception of the big challenges • Constraints faced by operators: • Technical constraints: • Low use of inputs • Respect of norms • Low mechanization

14. 3. Perception of the big challenges • Constraints faced by operators : • Financial constraints: • Weaknesses of the agricultural credit • Heavy conditions for granting credits

15. 3. Perception of the big challenges • Constraints faced by operators: • Organizational problems: - Weakness of the producers and chain commodities’ organization • Weakness of the access to land: - Few titled areas - Existence of saturated land areas • Weakness of the agricultural services • Weak professionalization…

16. 3. Perception of the big challenges • Constraints faced by the operators: • Commercial constraints: • Access to information • Regularity of the offer • Prospective new markets • Normalization

17. 3. Perception of the big challenges • Constraints faced by operators: • Constraints in logistics and infrastructure • Lack and low quality of infrastructures • Weakness of the administrative structures • Deficit in information and difficulty in accessing it • Insufficient and often non adequate scientific and technological research

18. 3. Perception of the big challenges • Economic objectives posted in the territory: • Continuation of the rural economy towards the industrial economy • Increase in agricultural production and agricultural exports • Development of the agro-industrial production

19. 3. Perception of the big challenges • National program of rural development (PNDR) : • To guarantee good governance in the agricultural sector • Promotion of diversification and transformation of agricultural products • To facilitate access to land capital • To increases agricultural productivity • To attain international norms on quality to develop agricultural and agro-industrial exports

20. 3. Perception of the big challenges • Other big challenges: • Management of too many agricultural economically active population • Management of the competition of imported products • Conquest/re-conquest of export markets, regional (SADC, COMESA, …) and international

21. 3. Perception of the big challenges • SYNERGIE OF ALL ACTORS • COHERENCE OF POLICIES

22. Misaotra tompoko Merci beaucoup pour votre attention Muchas gracias Thank you very much for your attention Choukran