JICA has Jakarta aiding Madagascar rice crop
ANTSIRABE, Madagascar — In Madagascar, where per capita rice consumption is the highest in Africa, Indonesian farm experts are lending a hand to help increase production of the staple crop. Jakarta sent the advisers to the Indian Ocean country, one of the world's poorest, at the request of the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Madagascan farmers favor Indonesian equipment over Japan's state-of-the-art technology, which carries a higher price tag. Furthermore, the economic and cultural similarities between Madagascar and Indonesia mean assistance from the Southeast Asian country gets a warmer welcome. Dispatched by the Indonesian government last October, 42-year-old Joko Ptioyo demonstrated a wooden thrasher he made at a cost of about 200,000 ariary (about ¥9,000) to farmers in Antsirabe, a city about 2 1/2 hours from the capital of Antananarivo. His mission is to develop and popularize small machines for poor farmers, including a winnower and a weed-eater. "Most impo