| The south of the Big Island has long been plagued by a multi-year drought. |
The South of the Big Island is plagued by extreme poverty. According to the World Bank, this is due to a lack of investment, but also to the effects of climate change.
Chronic poverty. It turns out that the Anosy, Androy and Atsimo-Andrefana regions concentrate the highest rate of poverty. Nearly 91% of the population of the Great South lives below the poverty line. A situation which disadvantages these localities, which nevertheless have rich potential.
In a report on poverty dated April, the World Bank attributes this situation to “chronic underinvestment” by successive governments. This neglect has caused the region to lag significantly behind the rest of the country, according to the financial institution. However, other factors also contributed to this situation.
Other factors hinder the development of the South of the country. For example, there is the lack of diversification of the means of production. Simply put, for millennia, agriculture and fishing have been the primary means of livelihood in these areas. Now, these two ways of life are threatened, if not prey to repeated annual shocks.
The World Bank also points to multi-year drought and the Covid-19 pandemic as one of the reasons for this poverty. “With a multi-year drought amplifying the impacts, the Covid-19 pandemic has strained livelihoods and human development and increased dependence on humanitarian aid,” the institution said. of Bretton Woods in its country partnership framework for the period 2023-2027.
Bold reform
The south of the island has long been marginalized. For almost fifty years, humanitarian projects have followed one another, without anything being done. Difficult to summarize in a few lines a problem that dates back centuries, however, it seems that this concern is eternal. It became more pronounced at the end of the 1950s, when the colonial administration began to leave, giving way to the First Republic.
Seen as a region of political recalcitrants, the South of the Big Island found itself landlocked “geographically and politically”, as historical documents attest. A situation which nevertheless seems paradoxical, given the number of major projects which have been launched there. Significant mineral and land reserves are also underexploited. There are, for example, the ilmenite mining projects in Tolagnaro, the graphite mining project in Fotadrevo, the rare earth extraction project in which Base Resources (parent company of Base Toliara) has embarked. Projects that have created jobs and added value to mining products in the South. However, insecurity slows down the smooth running of mining operations.
Overall, the fight against poverty is also a matter of improving the business climate. To attract more investors to use their money in meaningful projects. Atou Seck, head of World Bank operations for Madagascar, says that “the fight against poverty in Madagascar requires a bold pro-growth reform that will improve the business climate, encourage competition, strengthen human capital, invest in connectivity, energy access and digital infrastructure, and will boost agricultural productivity.”
Before adding that “by implementing such measures, Madagascar can create an environment conducive to private sector growth, job creation and poverty reduction, which will benefit all of population “.
Itamara Randriamamonjy