Madagascar Development

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...

A cartoonist has prepared a story of four young holiday makers travelling around the country and finding themselves in various scenarios that illustrate different aspects of their country's constitution. Madagascar's constitution was last altered juts a few months ago, but with political leaders there still arguing about the formation of a transitional government following a coup in March, there is talk that the constitution could be altered again by the end of next year. For many people these changes go unnoticed - perhaps because the matter seems too technical or too complex. A project to use cartoons to illustrate the constitution seeks to change that. From Antananarivo, Christina Corbett reports. A comic book has been penned in Madagascar to make it easier to get to grips with the constitution.

Lagos — Nigeria dropped nine places to 130th position out of the 180 countries ranked on the global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2009 by Transparency International (TI), a global anti-corruption watchdog. The survey measures domestic public sector corruption in selected countries and is conducted by TI, which is based in Berlin, Germany. In terms of level of perceived corruption, Nigeria, which had moved up 27 places to rank 121 out of 180 countries in 2008, placed 10th out of the 16 West African countries. However, according to TI, no region of the world is immune to the perils of corruption, as the world economy begins to register a tentative recovery and some nations continue to wrestle with ongoing conflict and insecurity. The newly released Corruption Perceptions Index is different from the Global Corruption Report (GCR), which was released by last September. In the GCR report, Nigeria's banking sector was lambasted for its perceived corruption, which was described as pa...

The long-held assumption that Madagascar has lost 90 percent of its forest cover due to fire and slash-and-burn agriculture may be overstated, argues new research published in Conservation Letters. Analyzing 6000-year pollen records in four sites, Malika Virah-Sawmy of Oxford University found evidence that vegetation in southeast Madagascar has for millennia been a mosaic of forests, woodlands and savannas, rather than continuous forests as generally believed. "Dry woodlands were once connected to humid forests in southeast Madagascar but disappeared in response to extreme dryness over the last 6000 years," Virah-Sawmy told mongabay.com. "By contrast, the humid forests were more resilient to these climatic shifts. Thus the current distribution of forest types in Madagascar may well be a function of climate change, rather than necessarily the product of human activities." Virah-Sawmy nonetheless notes that deforestation on the California-sized island has been extensi...

Andry Rajoelina, Marc Ravalomanana, Didier Ratsiraka and Albert Zafy, leaders of four major political parties in Madagascar began roundtable negotiations Wednesday in Maputo, Mozambique at the Southern African Development Community summit on the crisis in Madagascar. The objective of the summit is to advocate for an end to hostilities that have rocked the island since the beginning of the year through signing of a charter. They also wish to encourage the transitional government to hold new elections in the earliest possible time. Whilst many political analysts believe that this is a crucial moment, others think that this meeting is possibly the last chance to heave Madagascar out of the political crisis that has rocked the country’s foundations since the overthrow of President Marc Ravalomanana, last March. Under the auspices of the International Contact Group (ICG) headed by former Mozambican President Joachim Chissano, the heads of the four main Malagasy political parties met Wednesd...

Daewoo Logistics Corp. has established "PT Daewoo Logistics Indonesia" in Indonesia for partaking in such natural resource development as Palm Plantation, Gum Plantation, Corn Farm, Coal Mining, CDM(Clean Development Mechanism) business. Through investing huge investment for Palm Oil, recognized as leading future food & energy source, PT Daewoo Logistics is trying to secure a competitive edge at the leading group in the market and intending to maximize profits in the development. In addition, PT Daewoo Logistics plans to establish Palm Oil manufacturing factory at the sight, scheming the vertical integration of planting and manufacturing of the natural resource. Daewoo Logistics Corp. will participate in Gum Tree Plantation Project with the scope of 500,000 ha project agreed upon between Korean and Indonesian government. PT Daewoo Logistics Indonesia in Indonesia is pursuing a Corn Farm Development plan to secure & develop a major food resource. Test Cultivation has b...

What have Madagascar and South Korea got in common? On the face of it, nothing. The former is a country in development, the second is an economic power. One is in Africa, the other in Asia. The Malagasy have uncontaminated land. The Koreans lack cultivatable land. Madagascar has 28 inhabitants per square kilometre. South Korea has 493 inhabitants per square kilometre. Two countries that are different from each other but that today have Daewoo in common as well as neocolonialism without capital. Tronchetti and Colaninno have been leading the way even abroad. Once upon a time they gifted necklaces and shining stones to indigenous people in exchange for every type of good. Today not even that. South Korea needs corn, palm oil and agricultural goods. Madagascar has land. Daewoo signed an agreement with the Malagasy government. The handing over of 1.3 million hectares of cultivatable land for 99 years. More than half the cultivatable land in the country (2.5 million hectares). It’s all for ...

Rio Tinto’s titanium dioxide-ilmenite business extends back to the 1950s and has been part of its long-standing strategy within the industrial minerals area. The company sees titanium dioxide as a good business to be in. It is a low-cost producer and roughly produces a third of the world’s titanium dioxide feedstock capacity. Rio Tinto recovers more than a third of the sector’s cash flows and net incomes, which is consistent with the company’s strategy. The company sees its titanium dioxide business as continuing to develop for decades. In 1989, Rio Tinto acquired Quebec Iron & Titanium (QIT), which for long has been the leading producer of titanium oxide feedstocks for the pigment industry. About 95% of titanium oxide goes into paints and plastics as pigment. During the course of the 1950s, QIT came up with a new process for producing a feedstock, referred to as slag, for the pigment sector. During the 1960s, regulations forbade the use of lead carbonate in paint and at that time ...

I would like to raise another point that may be worth considering (putting all the environmental problems that may result from this deal aside for awhile): I might have been misinformed but from what I understand, the corn planted in these lands are not going to be destined for local consumption alone. If this is true, Madagascar may benefit from this deal in the short term (e.g. job creation, reduced independence from the imported corn) since we are not using the land right now (I assume this is the case and that we are not taking fertile land away from people or cut forests to grow these corns and palm trees). The question is, what will happen when we will have the technology in the future and will need the land to grow our own food to meet our demands? By that time, these lands will be so used up and will not be fertile anymore. We also need to be aware that this is how some countries try to use irreplaceable resources from other countries to help sustain the consumption need o...

Thank you for the interesting reactions. It just shows how much we would stand for the benefit of this beloved country of ours. I would like to congratulate the reaction of our President; if it is got into effect. I think that he should need further assistance and voice out from Malagasy development agents. In fact, it seems that we are too quick to be lured by "FDI" Foreign Direct Investments. We should ask one very important question: why all of these FDI are rushing to get land in our country and mostly and only lands??? And the corollary questions behind it: what are the status of land market in those countries? That is to say how much money would it take them to acquire these vast tracks of land? Could they access and possess such vast track of land? How are the land taxation systems in those countries? What advantages are we offered to them that they would either find in their own countries of origin? How many of these so called FDI bring about positive changes to our...

Tenant farming was popular in rural America until the Dust Bowl years of the Depression, but the practice is making a comeback on an epic scale in much of Africa. This time, however, the "tenants" are not simply family farmers down on their luck and willing to work land they don't own; they're major international corporations and governments looking to compensate for shortages of arable land in their own countries by setting up massive industrial farms abroad. South Korea's Daewoo Logistics this week announced it had negotiated a 99-year lease on some 3.2 million acres of farmland on the dirt-poor tropical island of Madagascar, off southern Africa's Indian Ocean coast. That's nearly half of Madagascar's arable land, according to the U.N.'s Food and Agricultural Organization, and Daewoo plans to put about three quarters of it under corn. The remainder will be used to produce palm oil — a key commodity for the global biofuels market. A Daewoo manager...

Vatican City, Nov 18, 2008 / 05:54 pm (CNA).- The president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Renato Martino, has announced the recipients of the St. Matthew Foundation Awards for outstanding service in solidarity and social justice. One of the recipients this year is the Argentinean Fr. Pedro Opeka, who has worked with the poor in Madagascar since 1989. The St. Matthew Foundation was created in memory of the late Vietnamese Cardinal Francois Xavier Van Thuan, who died in 2002, and whose cause for beatification is underway. The foundation promotes initiatives that encourage the presence of the Church in society through study and the spreading of the Church’s social doctrine. Father Opeka’s life The AICA news agency reports that Argentinean writer Jesus Silveyra, in his book “A Trip to Hope,” written after visiting Madagascar, says the following about Father Opeka: He was ordained a priest in 1975 and returned to the African island to be pastor of the parish of ...

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea' S Daewoo Logistics will seedling corn in Madagascar, has company official said one Tuesday, with has length-term aim to replaces more than half the corn it currently imports from mostly the United States. The move to develop year area off Madagascar larger than Qatar follows has smaller deal in July to seedling corn in Indonesia and reflects the region' S latest push to lock in cropland abroad. Soaring food prices earlier this year and has shortage off farm Land At home has prompted several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Malaysia and South Korea to seek agricultural assets abroad to grow crops. Daewoo Logistics has secured rights in Madagascar to develop 1.3 hectares million. It plans to seedling 1 hectares million in the western leaves off the country with corn and 300,000 hectares in the east will Be dedicated to oil palm planting, said Shin Dong-hyun, who is in load off the project for the company. “We plan to start planting corn on...

WASHINGTON — With the financial crisis engulfing developing countries from Latin America to Central Europe, raising the specter of market panic and even social unrest, Western officials are weighing coordinated action to try to stabilize these economies. The International Monetary Fund, which is in negotiations with several countries to provide emergency loans, is also working to arrange a huge credit line that would allow other countries desperate for foreign capital to borrow dollars, according to several officials. The list of countries under threat is growing by the day, and now includes such emerging-market stalwarts as Brazil, South Africa and Turkey. They have become collateral damage in a crisis that began in the American subprime housing market. The fast-growing economies of the developing world depend on money from Western banks to build factories, buy machinery and export goods to the United States and Europe. When those banks stop lending and the money dries up, as it has i...

Madagascar is to open a special business unit in Johannesburg in order to encourage and strengthen trade ties, it was announced on Wednesday. Their ambassador, Dr Denis Andriamandroso told delegates at the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry's annual convention that this strategy was intended to improve operational discussions between businesses. The new Madagascar House in Houghton Estate would supplement existing embassy activities. "We open soon," he said. He noted that while around 30 countries from South Africa have a presence in Madagascar, no company as such was in the country and the intention was to improve this situation. "Madagascar is young in business and has a lot to learn from a country like South Africa, but it also has a lot to offer," he said. "Our economy and business are being put ahead of politics," emphasised Andriamandroso. As part of this, he explained that the country had been divided into six economic regions, a cha...

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Total, the French oil company, on Wednesday continued its acquisition spree of oil fields, venturing into Madagascar in a deal that could eventually become the island nation’s biggest investment. Total bought 60 per cent of the Bemolanga field from Madagascar Oil, a small Houston-based company, that acquired the licence for the field in western Madagascar in 2004. Neither company disclosed the value of the deal, but analysts estimate the mining project to cost $5bn. A plant to upgrade the viscous oil trapped in the clay just below the surface would cost another $5bn-$7bn. The oil – estimated to be eventually 180,000 barrels a day – is most likely to go to China, which has been aggressively seeking to secure fresh streams of supply. Total has about 30 years experience of operations in China. Total has four years to develop the technology to extract the oil and overcome the massive soil erosion that washes away roads and makes part of Madagascar unreachable for the six months of the rain...

Madagascar Oil Ltd. is teaming up with Total SA to develop huge oil reserves in the island nation of Madagascar. Madagascar, a Houston-based private E&P company, holds the largest onshore licensed acreage on the island, which lies off the east coast of Africa. Under the terms of the deal, French supermajor Total (NYSE: TOT) gets a 60 percent interest and the operating license to the Bemolanga oil sands, believed to be one of the largest undeveloped bitumen reserves in the world, with more than 16 billion barrels of oil, according to an independent survey. “Total’s experience in other oil sands projects and large-scale integrated developments worldwide will greatly benefit the project and position it forward for potential development,” said Madagascar Chief Executive Officer Alex Archila. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Bemolanga license is one of six that Madagascar and its subsidiaries, Madagascar Oil SA and Majunga Oil SARL, holds on the island. Houston Busine...

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the second and third reviews of Madagascar's economic performance under a three-year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement. The completion of the reviews enables Madagascar to draw an amount equivalent to SDR 15.7 million(about US$25 million), bringing the total disbursements under the PRGF to SDR 31.4 million (about US$ 49.9 million). In completing the review, the Board also granted waivers for the nonobservance of a quantitative performance criterion pertaining to the ceiling on the net domestic financing requirement of the central government, a quantitative performance criterion on the floor on tax revenue, a structural performance criterion on the implementation of the Central Bank of Madagascar recapitalization plan, and a structural performance criterion on the issuance by the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Budget of quarterly commitment ceilings to all ministries. The Board also m...

Event Details: Please join SID-Washington and the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) for a presentation on the "Madagascar Action Plan: 2007-2012: A Bold and Exciting Vision for Rapid Development" by: Marius Ratolojanahary, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Perline Rahantanirina, Vice Minister of Health, Family Planning and Social Protection Andry Ralijaona, General Secretary in charge of Madagascar Action Plan Ndranto Razakamanarina, Advisor for International Mobilization at SGMAP Tovondriaka Rakotobe, General Secretary of the Ministry of Environment Eric Beantanana, Marketing Officer, Economic Development Board of Madagascar Accompanied by Ambassador Niels Marquardt, US Ambassador to Madagascar The Madagascar Action Plan (MAP) is a bold and exciting new vision for Madagascar. The MAP establishes direction, commitments and priorities for the nation from 2007-2012. It is about people – the people of Madagascar – and is changing values, habits, practices and pr...