ANTANANARIVO – On January 24, 2024, the United States gathered agriculture experts, key partners, and officials in Antananarivo to discuss how cultivation of peanut, sorghum, and millet can increase food security and improve for consumers and farmers in Madagascar.
The meeting included the launch of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Agricultural Project for Enhancing Sorghum, Millet, and Peanuts Business Activity in Madagascar (APEMBA) in partnership with the National Center for Applied Research on Rural Development (FOFIFA). APEMBA will promote the use of resilient rotations of peanuts, sorghum, and millet to improve soil conditions, increase farm production, feed people, and protect the environment.
“This new project will help expand and strengthen climate-smart agricultural production in Madagascar,” USAID Mission Director Michele Russell said at the launch. “It promises to increase availability of nutritious food for communities and put more money in farmers’ pockets.”
The U.S. Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Peanut, which will implement APEMBA, hosted the event along with the Global Collaboration for Sorghum and Millet (GCSM), which together will work to improve the productivity and profitability of farmers by introducing new adapted varieties and agronomic practices for peanut, sorghum, and millet. It will also enhance their value chains and strengthen Madagascar's national agricultural programs.
Headquartered at the University of Georgia, the Peanut Innovation Lab works across Africa to foster synergies and build research capacity, empower farmers with resilient new crop varieties and production practices, and improve markets. The GCSM is based at Kansas State University in the United States and focuses on value-chain growth and stability for two climate-smart crops critical to underserved communities around the world.
The event kicks off two weeks of travel for the group of experts from the United States, Uganda, and Senegal, to visit field sites, smallholder farmer associations, and private sector partners involved across these value chains.
Since 2022, USAID has committed over $39 million to address food insecurity and improve agricultural practices and livelihoods in Madagascar.
USAID/Malala Ramarohetra