• Madagascar has launched a public digital agriculture infrastructure and three digital services to improve farmers' access to market, weather and advisory information.
• The initiative forms part of a broader national digital agriculture roadmap supported by the World Bank and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
• Agriculture accounts for nearly 30% of Madagascar's GDP, around 40% of export earnings and supports about 70% of the country's workforce, according to the World Bank.

Madagascar has launched a public digital agriculture infrastructure and three initial digital services for farmers. Officials unveiled the initiative on Tuesday, June 30, during a workshop in Antananarivo dedicated to developing the country's national digital agriculture roadmap.

The Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Livestock and the Ministry of Digital Development organized the event with support from the World Bank through the Korea-World Bank Partnership Facility (KWPF).

The initiative centers on a public digital agriculture infrastructure designed to ensure interoperability and data sovereignty across the agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors. Authorities also introduced three digital services. The first service establishes a national registry of agricultural producers that will serve as a unified database of farmers. The second service combines an agricultural commodity price monitoring system with a weather alert platform that delivers real-time updates. The third service provides a digital agricultural advisory platform that offers recommendations tailored to farmers' crops, geographic locations and local climate conditions.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, these tools aim to improve farmers' access to market information, support crop management decisions and strengthen their ability to anticipate climate-related risks.

Authorities selected three companies to develop the solutions under the supervision of technical adviser NextA. Meanwhile, the government has launched similar projects in the livestock sector, including the digitalization of beehives and digital health monitoring systems for cattle.

The digital initiative comes as agriculture continues to play a central role in Madagascar's economy. According to the World Bank, the sector contributes nearly 30% of GDP, generates about 40% of export revenue and provides livelihoods for approximately 70% of the country's workforce. However, low productivity, limited access to agricultural services and high exposure to climate shocks continue to hamper the sector's development.

International institutions increasingly view digital technologies as a critical tool for improving agricultural productivity, expanding market access and strengthening food security.

The launch of the new services forms part of Madagascar's broader strategy to digitize its agricultural sector. The country has worked for several years with partners including the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to develop a national digital agriculture roadmap.

The roadmap aims to strengthen agricultural data infrastructure, improve digital governance across the sector and support the large-scale deployment of digital services that benefit farmers.

This article was initially published in French by Samira Njoya

Adapted in English by Ange J. A de Berry Quenum