FINANCEMENT DE L’AGRICULTURE VIA MICOFINANCES, UNE EXPERIENCE PEU DEVELOPPEE A MADAGASCAR

Abstract

The issue of agricultural financing is becoming increasingly important in a context of liberalization of agricultural economies. Analyses highlighting this issue are carried out specifically in West Africa, where lack of access to financing remains a major obstacle to the development of farming households (Wampfler, 2002). In Madagascar, where the majority of the population (80% of households) engage in agricultural activity, financing this activity remains a major challenge for all stakeholders. The aim of this article is to take stock of the limited contribution of microfinance to the development of agricultural activities in Madagascar. Two hundred (200) agricultural households were surveyed. The data collected was processed using SPSS software. Our results raised the following three points. (i) Agriculture is the main activity of the population, the majority of whom grow rice. However, its products are generally intended for self-consumption and subsistence. (ii) Despite the importance of the sector in the country, microfinance has contributed little to its development. Only a small proportion of farmers have access to microfinance. This is generally due either to ignorance on the part of the majority of farming households, or to the irrelevance of MFI interventions. iii) In Madagascar, farmers are increasingly affected by poverty and are no longer able to secure their livelihoods through their main activity. In this context, the vicious circle of poverty is becoming increasingly complex. State intervention in the form of popularization of the roles of microfinance and financial inclusion of farmers is a more rational choice in the challenge of poverty alleviation, as well as the development of rural Madagascar.