For Photos building
Fiadananas rice storage building
According to the community (November 2005) the rice production per
year in Fiadanana is 454 metric tons. Of these 54 tons are for consumption,
10 tons for seed, and 390 tons for sale. As subsistence farmers, rice
is virtually the only source of potential cash income for farmers.
Families have storage capacity in their houses for the rice they will eat
the throughout the year, but dont have enough storage space for the
rice they sell. Therefore, they have to sell right after harvest, when
the rice buyers trucks cruise the countryside. The price obtained right
after the harvest (usually around May) is the lowest of the year, because
there is an abundance of rice available in the country. If the farmers
were able to store some of their rice for sale until prices go up starting
in August, they earn more money.
Building a communal rice storage has proven to be an effective way to help
farmers achieve a better price for their harvest in hundreds of communities
across Madagascar. Building such a structure where the rice is kept dry
and free from pests can be built based on existing models. A system with
3 community representatives who jointly manage the facility is one possible
role model.
Funding needs
It will be the role of Zahana to provide the know-how and find and provide
the finances to built the storage unit, as lack of money has been the main
stumbling block thus far. The villagers will, as with all other projects,
contribute the locally available materials and the labor. Building such
a storage unit is a good example of how with a small investment the financial
situation of the farmers can be improved greatly, just by transferring
knowledge that has worked elsewhere in the country.
Building a communal Rice Storage in Fiarenana, Zahanas second village