A long-awaited harvest. It was the way the farmers in the Fanovana neighborhood, Rural Municipality of Ambatovola, described the rice harvest carried out in December, and this, thanks to Ambatovy’s various support from which they benefited. “We are fully satisfied with our harvest, because this year our production has doubled, while the amount of seed that we used has decreased significantly, thanks to new agricultural techniques that Ambatovy’s technicians have taught us. This first season only took us three and a half months with quality seeds provided by Ambatovy, while it took at least nine months previously to harvest the former rice variety, Manorolahy,” said Raymond Raharisoa, one of the farmers in the locality. After successfully completing a promising first season, this father whose rice paddies were affected by the construction of the pipeline, and yet already restored by Ambatovy, expects to achieve at least the same performance for his second season. Indeed, after the rehabilitation of rice paddies and by following training provided by Ambatovy, farmers now have the opportunity to do two seasons in a year. Actually, Ambatovy is not only restoring rice paddies affected by its work during the construction of the pipeline, but also helps concerned farmers adopt new and improved farming techniques whilst providing agricultural equipment, inputs and improved seeds. The company’s commitments are beginning to bear fruit given the yields recorded among farmers whom its technicians assisted in the District of Moramanga.
