FIER Mada, the fair for Madagascar’s rural society, is on its 20th edition this year. It is taking place from August 1 to 5, 2018, in Antananarivo. Seven agricultural cooperatives from the municipalities along Ambatovy’s Pipeline and the District of Toamasina II are participating in this edition with the company’s support to promote their products, namely young papaya, coconut, and soursop tree seedlings, handicrafts, such as hats, baskets, mats and stools, as well as seasonal fruits and vegetables. The 19 farmers, including seven women, who represent these cooperatives will also make exchange visits to other cooperatives in the peripheral regions of Antananarivo to discover new techniques and other ways of doing things, such as the vermicomposting in Ambohimanambola, the plant nursery in Ambalavao, the rearing of an improved local chicken breed in Talata-Volonondry, and finally, the fish farming and stocking of young fish in Ankazobe.
It should be noted that the support for these seven cooperatives is part of a comprehensive approach to support cooperatives in Ambatovy’s intervention areas and falls within the framework of its contribution to local development, which includes the 20 municipalities along the 220-km pipeline that carries slurry ore to its Plant in Toamasina.
As part of this, in 2016, ten agricultural cooperatives received different types of training, including one module aimed at establishing a business plan according to their activities. Some cooperatives have succeeded in winning contracts to supply litchis and ginger, or thousands of clove seedlings, and are participating in this fair to further develop their activities.
