1 October 2012: The Lower Mangoky Irrigation Area Rehabilitation Project in Madagascar, funded by a loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB), is working to reduce the impacts of cyclical droughts, which affect local food security.

The irrigation scheme was developed in the 1960s, and its rehabilitation is expected to conclude in 2015. The project will increase rice production through the development of a further 5850 hectares (ha). The project also includes training and capacity building for members of Water Users Associations (WUAs), which organize local rice farmers to manage and maintain shared infrastructure within the system.

The project also has seen the establishment of 64 cooperatives, demonstration plots to teach new farming methods, and a rural financing agency to improve access to farming equipment, seeds, fertilizer and pesticides. An umbrella organization, the Lower Mangoky Irrigation Area Association (APBM), has been created to coordinate activities in the irrigation area, bringing together diverse stakeholders including the WUAs, cooperatives, development agencies and NGOs. [AfDB Press Release]