Large-scale agricultural investments in Madagascar: lessons for more "inclusive" models

Introduction: In late 2008, the international media spotlight was turned on Madagascar following the announcement of some very large scale agribusiness projects. Two companies, Daewoo Logistics and Varun International, sought to acquire areas of land amounting to over 1.5 million hectares. This provoked strong reactions because of the potential dispossession of large numbers of local farmers. These reactions took the form of vivid protests in early 2009, which were relayed to the international arena and forced these companies to abandon their project. They also added to the grievances expressed by the opposition movements, which began to mobilise from December 2008. These grievances directly contributed to the fall of the Ravalomanana government in March 2009. But the failed grandiose agribusiness projects should not overshadow a range of more reasonably sized and better accepted projects that are being implemented in the country. This chapter discusses two agribusiness projects, one led by Varun and the other by Fuelstock. Based on these experiences, it draws lessons for establishing agricultural investment projects that can serve the interests of both investors and local peopl