The government of Madagascar and the African Development Bank have agreed to consolidate the mid-term results of the Country Strategy Paper 2022-2026 and to maintain its strategic directions until 2026. This was the conclusion of the workshop of 6 May 2024 in Madagascar discussing the results of the CSP mid-term review and examining country's 2024 portfolio performance.
During the first two years of the CSP's implementation, Bank-funded projects contributed to the development of over 20,000 hectares of irrigated land, building and equipping over 270 kilometres of roads and creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs. The implementation of agricultural projects, particularly the Mid-West Young Rural Businesses Project and the Program for Promoting Youth Entrepreneurship in Agriculture and Agro-industry project contributed to raising rice production from 4 million tonnes in 2021 to 5.32 million tonnes in 2023.
Bank backing also provided technical and financial support for 354 micro, small and medium-sized women-led agricultural businesses, creating 7,584 jobs for women. In the transport sector, the completion of the Project to Develop Corridors and Facilitate Trade helped increase average heavy-goods traffic on national road RN 9 from 27 to 108 vehicles daily.
During the workshop, the two parties agreed to maintain the focus on the Bank's key areas - transport, energy, agriculture and industry - for the next two years. The two CSP 2022-2026 priority areas thus remain transport and energy infrastructure development for inclusive growth, and support for transforming agriculture and developing manufacturing industries.
Chaired by Rindra Hasimbelo Rabarinirinarison, Madagascar's Minister of the Economy and Finance and a Bank governor, the meeting included several members of the Malagasy government, ambassadors, leaders of international organizations, representatives of the public authorities and the private sector, as well as the African Development Bank team.
During her speech, Minister Rabarinirinarison stated that the Malagasy government was determined to pursue its strategic partnership with the Bank Group, to make up for the lag in the structural transformation of the country's economy, while creating the necessary conditions for more inclusive shared growth. "There are numerous prospects and several challenges yet to be tackled. Hence the importance of reviewing the performance of the portfolio to guide and improve project implementation in a concerted manner to maximize expected project outcomes," she confirmed.
The participatory review included a broad consultation of all stakeholders - government, the private sector, civil society, and technical and financial partners. Sector-specific and themed sessions and bilateral meetings alongside the portfolio performance review workshop resulted in an Annual Improvement Plan for portfolio performance in Madagascar.
"I am delighted to see a positive evaluation of the implementation of the 2022-2026 strategy, two years in. It indicates that the mid-term objectives of the Bank's operational program in Madagascar have been broadly met, not only in terms of the resources mobilized but also in relation to achievements on the ground and the impact on the population," said Adam Amoumoun, head of the African Development Bank's Country Office in Madagascar.
On 1 May 2024, the Bank Group's active portfolio in Madagascar comprised 20 operations, for a total commitment of around $830 million.
