On 05 May 2023, the Platform for Agricultural Risk Management (PARM), hosted by IFAD, presented and discussed the preliminary results of the Value Chain Risk Assessment Study (VC-RAS), during a technical workshop held in Antananarivo, that gathered the interministerial technical committee put in place by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MINAE). The study is based on a holistic assessment of agricultural risks with a value chain approach that focused on maize and peanut, respectively as food and export commodities. The VC-RAS aimed to identify and prioritize the main risks affecting the two commodities value chains using quantitative and qualitative techniques and a value chain approach.  

Based on the preliminary VC-RAS results, the major risks identified for both value chains are weather, pests, health and market. The most exposed actors to these risks are small-scale producers, women, youth and migrants/internal displaced people. Processors are the second most exposed actors. The latter are mainly exposed to supply shocks (short harvests), price volatility, security and macroeconomic risks. The technical committee members have provided inputs and technical advice to consolidate the content of the study, identified and agreed on the next steps with PARM. These included obtaining the committee’s approval of the methodology, and pre-validation of the first draft of the study. 

The workshop was preceded by a knowledge sharing and learning event that took place on 04 May 2023, bringing together national and international actors in the agricultural sector, to showcase initiatives on Agricultural Risk Management (ARM) that are related to the selected value chains in the country, and to foster policy dialogue between different public and private actors operating along these value chains. The aim was to raise awareness and strengthen the understanding of the actors and the members of the technical committee and their key partners on the main concepts of ARM, in order to increase their capacity to support the PARM country process, including the appropriation of the VC-RAS and its results. In total, 4 institutions showcased and shared experiences on their initiatives on ARM, including IFC (International Finance Corporation), FIFATA (a famer organization), FDA (Agricultural Development Fund)/MINAE and ARO (an insurance company), aligned with the two selected value chains (maize and peanut). The knowledge sharing event was opened by statements from the Representative of the General Secretary of MINAE, Mr Andritiana Ranaivomanana and the IFAD country Director, Joseph Rostand Olinga Biwole, alongside PARM’s technical Specialist, Jean-Claude Bidogeza. Both workshops received in total 72 participants including 41 women (57%) representing a diverse set of key stakeholders from the public sector, private sector, civil society, academia and donors active in ARM.  

The final results of the study that incorporate the technical committee contributions will be shared with MINAE for final approval by June 2023. This will open the discussions to identify the tools to manage the priority risks from the validated VC-RAS. The next phase is the design of an investment program/project which will focus on the selected ARM tools to mitigate the prioritized risks.