Madagascar Seeds System Publication

With national seed systems on my mind due to my work and study in Timor-Leste, it seemed fitting that one of the links I provided recently included an interesting book available for free download: African Seed Enterprises. This book is on Agro-Insight's site, and provides numerous cast studies of different African countries' experiences in the seed sector. In particular, the chapter on Madagascar was very interesting. Ok, to be fair, I only read the first few introductory chapters and the Mada chapter (hope to read some more soon), but it still was interesting!

The chapter was written in 2010, in the heart of the (ongoing) political crisis/stalemate, and is titled: "Madagascar: Coping with Relief Aid and Politics." If you are interested in agriculture in Madagascar, I think it is a worthwhile read. Most articles and papers were pre-crisis, but this one incorporates the effects of donor departure and other effects of the political circus crisis. A few passages that caught my eye (followed by my comments):

Paddy prices have been pretty stable and saw a marked price jump only once (in 2004–2005) when the private sector imports had stopped because of high risks involved in the trade and the government short-run efforts to import were not effective (Dorosh, 2008). As local production increased across the country following the boost of upland rice cultivation and the government’s Green Revolution Plan, Madagascar was not affected by the grain crisis in 2008 and paddy prices returned to 450 Ariary ($0.23) per kg. Currently, the government is considering exporting rice so that growers would no longer face low prices at peak harvest times (Philibert Rakotoson, personal communication, 2010).

Madagascar escaped the 2008 grain crisis unscathed? I did not know that, especially because numerous development programs seemed to use that global price crisis as reason for launching food security programs in Madagascar. But it is good to hear that the (old) government's agricultural improvement plans were working. As for exporting rice, when I worked at Lotus Foods we had to obtain specific exemptions from the government ban on rice exports, and I don't believe it has been lifted yet. The reasoning by Mr. Rakotoson was sound though!

The Seed Control Service (SOC – Service Officiel de Contrôle des Semences) is currently under the Ministry of Agriculture (although with every new government its name and organizational set-up has changed)

Ha! True for so many government institutions...

Seventy per cent of the national irrigated rice seed is produced by the CMS Anosiboribory near Lake Alaotra. Privatized in 2009, it provides seed even for other regions. Also seed growers’ associations supported by DRDR or NGOs produce quality seed and directly supply neighbouring farmers. In 2009 the Ministry imported hybrid rice seed from China, which it has tested and began promoting in 2010. As earlier attempts failed because farm-saved seed of hybrid rice does not give a good crop, it seems puzzling why farmers would not abandon it this time.

Reread that last sentence... and wish that we (development agencies, governments, private companies, humankind...) would learn to start LEARNING from our mistakes...

‘Combining seed with commercial rice production is a good strategy, as it helps to free up money more quickly,’ explains Mr Andry. The milled rice can be sold immediately after harvest, improving cash flow, while seed is stored for sale during the next season.

Sound business strategy from a Malagasy entrepreneur. Running a business selling only seed is extremely difficult, as the demand is seasonal at best.

The street part of the office has been refurbished as a mobile phone shop (named Andri-Com), showing the uncertainty of running a seed business in a difficult political and economic climate, as well as the adaptability of the overall family enterprise.

I tend to think that people with good business sense will succeed in just about any sector. This retailer diversified his business to protect against the numerous challenges of running a high-quality seed production business in an uncertain climate.

Loose agreements exist with five outgrowers who can grow at least 5 hectares of irrigated rice seed and who have their own storehouse. Andri-Ko offers 200 Ariary ($0.10) per kg on top of the market price for paddy, but there are no reciprocal obligations. This flexibility suits both parties as there are too many uncertainties.

A lack of such flexibility led to years of headaches and challenges in the Cooperative I worked with to produce organic rice in Amparafaravola.

Mr William never took a loan. According to him ‘micro-credit institutions are often portrayed as helpers of the poor, but many farmers have gone bankrupt because of them. Interest rates are just far too high. It is authorized theft.’

Credit, particularly farm credit, remains a massive problem in Madagascar, where few international microfinance organizations operate.

Malto used to establish contracts with roughly 500 farmer groups. The Meva cooperative was one of them. In order to avoid problems with group liability, Malto acted on farmers’ own preference and now makes contracts with 6500 individuals and 225 groups, of on average three to four farmers. This seriously increased the repayment rate.

People often balk when I say farmers' groups rarely work in Madagascar. In my experience, they can work very well, but the majority of farmers prefer to operate independently. I like that this company adapted to the stated preferences of farmers and only used groups where it was the choice of the group members. (such a "novel" idea, listening to the farmers!)

As farms in the highlands near Antsirabe are small, the logistics are enormous. During harvest, Malto goes from farm to farm with a truck and a bus with 50 workers who weigh and bag the grain. The team is even fed by a caterer to increase efficiency. ‘For two months and a half, we have a mobile factory,’ says Daniel Couderc, director of Malto. Working with smallholders certainly has its challenges.

Ah, logistics...

More disturbing has been the political crisis that started in February 2009 (and that had not been resolved at the time of writing this chapter in July 2010): companies closed down, the tourism industry collapsed, most bilateral aid was frozen, development organizations withdrew, and people’s (already low) purchasing power dropped further.

SIGH

Madagascar faces frequent natural disasters on the one hand but has diverse agroecological zones where seed and crops for relief aid could be produced if the strong interest groups favouring rice imports could be managed.

This chapter mentioned this "rice import lobby" a few times. I do not know if it exists as such, but I am sure there are economic interests there. I am also sure that Madagascar could absolutely produce its own seed and crops. The potential is there!

The introduction of micro-finance institutions has raised many expectations (Dunford, 2009), but, with a 36% interest rate and the need for clients to present proof of identity (something poor people rarely have), Malagasy farmers often turn Madagascar to local moneylenders whom they know. ‘Many traditional social institutions exist, but we have always ignored them and tried to establish new economic ones, such as cooperatives, which often collapse once projects end. Seed distribution and marketing may benefit a lot by building on existing local institutions,’ says Philibert Rakotoson, secretary general at the Ministry of Agriculture.

This sums up both the lack of reliable and affordable credit AND the failure of creating cooperatives (rather than relying on traditional social institutions). Many sectors and businesses could benefit from "building on existing local institutions!"

So, I found this chapter very interesting. There are some great stories in there of impressive entrepreneurs, and interesting tidbits abound (like Malto's barley production for Star Brewery). Check it out if any of the above piqued your interest! And for the couple people reading this who are interested in other countries' seed sector experiences, I think this book (again, free for download!) looks promising.


Finally, since this is a Madagascar post, I had to include this excellent Letter to America (on the 4th of July), which sums up the reasons we Americans have trouble understanding Madagascar: "Car mon pays, c’est comme certains statuts Facebook : it’s complicated."
[Special thanks to my Language and Cultural Facilitator and Malagasy small enterprise expert Hoby for that link!]