Madagascar targets 25% boost in rice production with US$122M investment

MADAGASCAR – Madagascar, the third-largest rice producer in Africa after Nigeria and Egypt has announced plans to cultivate an additional 100,000 hectares of rice, for the 2024/2025 agricultural campaign.

The move aims to boost paddy rice production by 25%, equivalent to an increase of 1 million tonnes over the previous harvest, in a bid to achieve self-sufficiency.

This initiative is expected to raise milled rice production, which stood at approximately 3.2 million tonnes in the 2023/2024 season, meeting about 86% of the national demand estimated at 3.7 million tonnes.

The government’s strategy includes enhancing rice productivity to 7-10 tonnes per hectare to improve farmers’ incomes. Measures to achieve this include strengthening training and supervision of farmers, supporting agribusiness through public-private partnerships, and attracting international investments.

A significant component of this plan is the development of hybrid rice cultivation, which can yield up to 8.5 tonnes per hectare, significantly higher than traditional varieties yielding between 2.45 to 2.7 tonnes per hectare.

Additionally, the government has allocated US$122.7 million in its 2025 finance bill to purchase hybrid rice seeds for farmers, marking an unprecedented investment in the country’s history.

The expansion of rice cultivation is also expected to contribute to the overall increase in African rice production.

According to a recent FAO report, African milled rice production is projected to reach 28.4 million tonnes in the 2024/2025 season, marking a 4% increase from the previous year’s 27.3 million tonnes.

Despite these efforts, challenges remain. The increase in production over recent years has been primarily due to the expansion of cultivated land, which grew from 1.6 million hectares in 2019 to 1.9 million hectares in 2023.

However, yield improvements have been modest, rising from 2.6 to 2.7 tonnes per hectare over the same period. Irrigated rice dominates national production, accounting for 89% of the cultivated area and 83% of total output.

Additionally, localized damages to rice production due to limited access to agricultural inputs for poorer households following multiple years of shocks have been reported.

Cash crops in northern, central, and eastern parts of the country, including vanilla, cloves, pepper, and coffee, were also damaged by heavy rains and winds, reducing the quality and quantity of the harvests.

The government’s comprehensive approach, focusing on both expanding cultivation areas and improving yields through hybrid varieties and farmer support, aims to overcome these challenges and move closer to achieving rice self-sufficiency in the near future.

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