The President of the Republic proceeded to the inauguration of the new sugar factory of Antanamifafy, yesterday. A materialization of the industrialization policy of Madagascar, according to the speeches made.
A realization. This is what was highlighted during the inauguration of the Antanamifafy sugar refinery, in the rural commune of Ambalakida, located in the Mahajanga II district, on Saturday. A concretization of the policy of industrialization of Madagascar affirm the speakers. A policy implemented with the “One district, one factory” (ODOF) program, implemented in industrial incubators.
“This project testifies to your desire to materialize your commitment, that of industrializing Madagascar”, affirms Volatiana Rakotondrazafy, country representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), addressing the Head of State. This UN entity is one of those who have been at the helm of the implementation of the establishment of the Antanamifafy sugar refinery. Taken over by the MEO company, the Antanamifafy factory is part of the semi-industrial sugar cane processing project. Funded by the European Union, the Antanamifafy site was set up with the expertise and technical support of UNIDO, the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Consumer Affairs, as well as the Malagasy Center for Cane and Sugar (CMCS), specifies Volatiana Rakotondrazafy. Technical support and expertise focused on “the training of technicians, the structuring of planters, support for the establishment of nurseries in order to subsequently ensure the production of cane, both in quantity and in quality. ”, explains the UNIDO country representative.
In addition to the production unit, the site has a sugar cane nursery specially selected for their sugar concentration and growth rate. Plants made available to growers. Visiting the site in May, Edgard Razafindravahy, Minister of Industrialization, Trade and Consumption, was able to observe the smooth running of the factory during a technical test.
As the Managing Director of MEO and the Country Representative of UNIDO pointed out, getting the plant set up and reaching the production phase has not been a long calm river. After several years of shutdown, the project is finally fully operational. The equipment for the assembly of the factory arrived in 2016. Various events accentuated by the health crisis have blocked the project. An intervention by Minister Razafindravahy was necessary for it to resume at the start of the year.
In his speech, Andry Rajoelina, President of the Republic, declared, “I personally wanted to go here to show my desire to industrialize Madagascar”. He also emphasized the employment provider effect of such a project.
Booster la production locale
About forty workers, ten of whom are qualified, work and take turns twenty hours a day in the factory. In addition to these direct jobs, dozens of families in the municipality of Ambalakida. Families of planters who cultivate sugar cane on 45 hectares of land.
A representative of cane growers who spoke during the inauguration ceremony said that there are 5,000 hectares of cultivable land in the commune. “We are ready to work, to produce as much as it takes to run this factory and improve our living conditions, to diversify our agricultural activities. We just need material support from the state”, he said to the tenant of Iavoloha and his suite. He even quoted his wish and that of those he represents “to have four tractors”.
In his response, the President of the Republic made the connection with the challenge of achieving food self-sufficiency in the country. “Faced with the global situation [citant au passage les conséquences de la guerre en Ukraine avec ses conséquences inflationnistes sur les produits d’importation] our challenge to produce locally everything the country needs is more than timely,” emphasizes Andry Rajoelina.
The President adds, “to achieve the country’s food self-sufficiency, it is the farmers who are our soldiers. Their ammunition is land, agricultural equipment [faisant allusion aux tracteurs voulus par les agriculteurs d’Antanamifafy], or the seeds”. On his way, Andry Rajoelina shared that he has just proceeded to the delivery of ten thousand land certificates in the Tsaramandroso commune, located in the district of Ambato Boeny.
Still in line with the challenge of producing locally what the population needs on a daily basis, the Head of State noted that the factory of the MEO company is a materialization of the ODOF program, which the Ministry of Industrialization, commerce and consumption declines in industrial incubator to reach the level of the communes.
The Antanamifafy sugar refinery has chosen to make brown sugar of superior quality. It can produce up to 4.5 tons per day and has a total production capacity of 675 tons per year. A quantity that can cover the needs of the Boeny region.
