In Madagascar, the government has a clear ambition: create 150,000 hectares of new rice-growing areas in order to strengthen domestic production. In this perspective, the Ministry of Agriculture has signed a memorandum of understanding with the private company on Saturday 14 February COM'ON HOLDING & PARTNER.

The partnership includes the installation of pilot sites.” prototypes” in strategic production basins such as Atsinanana and Alaotra Mangoro. The objective is to experiment with cultivation techniques. advances integrating mechanization, especially for transplanting and the use of combine harvesters, in order to optimize yields.

The device will also be based on the introduction of certified seeds from AfricaRice and based on scientific validation provided by the FOFIFA (National Center for Applied Development Research) rural). According to an official press release, the production resulting from this partnership will be primarily intended for the national market. However, if the goals food security has been achieved, the export of specialty rice may be authorized in order to strengthen the economic attractiveness of the sector Malagasy agricultural.

If the overall investment amount has not yet been unveiled, the challenge is strategic: to stop the growing dependence on Big Island for imports. According to data compiled by the Organization of the United Nations for food and agriculture, rice imports have more than doubled, reaching 800,000 tons in 2025 against nearly 300,000 tons a year ago. This dramatic increase illustrates the difficulties structural structures of the national sector to meet demand sustainably interior.

Moreover, the outlook for 2026 remains worrisome. In its report on global agricultural production published by December 12, the United States Department of Agriculture expects a milled rice production of 2.7 million tonnes for the 2025/26 crop year, in decrease of 19% compared to the previous season and of 12% compared to five-year average.

The American body attributes this contraction to a reduction of 8 per cent in cultivated areas, estimated at 1.8 million hectares, and an expected fall of 12% in the average yield, down to 2.40 tons per hectare, in an unfavorable climate context. Drought in March, temperatures above average, delayed seasonal and seasonal rains of shortened growth have strongly affected crops, leading to lowest return recorded in twenty years.

In this tense context, the partnership public-private with COM'ON HOLDING & PARTENAIRE appears as a lever strategic. If he keeps his promises, he could strengthen the base national production and initiate a sustainable recovery of the rice sector Malagasy from the next campaign.