FAO, in cooperation with national institutions of Madagascar organized a consultation workshop in Antananarivo from 12 to 13 April 2016 to map and assess the investment opportunities in agriculture water management (AWM) for poverty reduction in the country. Participants included national experts from different fields (agriculture, water, social sciences) and institutions (government, research, NGOs, farmer organizations and private sector). The approach, developed by FAO, assessed the needs of poor rural people and the role that water plays in their livelihoods together with the availability of natural resources and other economic aspects of agricultural production such as market and credit access.

The outputs of the consultations were assessed against statistical data and the results include a series of maps describing the main livelihood zones - areas where rural people share relatively homogenous living conditions -, potential beneficiaries of AWM interventions, priority areas to invest and suitability domains of specific AWM solutions.

As an example, the maps below show the result of the assessment of the suitability of soil and rice-fish culture and its demand in Madagascar. Biophysical suitability was evaluated on the basis of presence of irrigated rice fields and access to hatcheries. The number of potential beneficiaries was assessed on the basis of population density and of the demand for AWM in the different livelihood zones, limited - where relevant - by availability of water resources.

The full results of the mapping will be soon available online.