The World Food Programme (WFP), in partnership with the government of Madagascar, has launched the Rapid Rural Transformation (RRT) initiative to drive rural development in Androy and Anosy regions.

It is understood that the project is designed to establish solar-powered hubs, sustainable water sources and information and communication technology (ICT) centres in remote areas to provide energy, water, and digital platforms to community members in a sustainable manner.

Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world. In 2012, 78 percent of the country’s 23.6 million population lived on less than $1.90 a day and 90 percent lived on less than $3.10 a day, according to data from the World Bank.

More than 80 percent of the poor draw their livelihood from agriculture and are the most exposed to weather-related disasters such as flooding, landslides, and erosion.

Also, 57 percent of the population in Madagascar depends on surface water or non-improved water points for their supply.

According to WFP, the hubs, which will be managed by regional authorities, will allow various development partners to set up integrated community services such as training centres for women and youths on food production and digital classrooms to enhance agricultural production.

‘The initiative is a game-changer’, WFP’s Country Director for Madagascar, Pasqualina di Sirio, said in a statement.

‘Working with the government, the integrated services approach helps us to stimulate grassroots development while addressing rural communities’ most pressing needs. Our plan is to expand the initiative to other villages and regions’.

For her part, the Governor of the Anosy Region, Jocelyn Raharimbola, is confident that the RRT initiative will drive transformation across the region as basic services will get to reach those in need.

‘With this pilot project, we will facilitate rural transformation even in geographically isolated areas, through the provision of clean water for irrigation, the operation of health care facilities, the expansion of entrepreneurial opportunities, and the development of their agricultural value chains’, she said.

‘Following years of food insecurity, data on the ground shows an improvement in the nutritional situation thanks to emergency interventions and collaboration with agencies such as WFP’.

Photo source: WFP