Spotlight on local suppliers

Feedback Madagascar collaborates with local communities to assist them in becoming vegetable suppliers for our School Feeding Programme, which provides a nutritious meal to over 98,000 children every school day.

Womens Association members in Ambohimahamasina tend to the vegetables in Rasoa’s field

Here we meet two farmers who have become suppliers of the School Feeding Programme

Rasoa with her handcrafted goods

Rasoa, who has worked with Feedback Madagascar for many years, is the president of the women's association in Ambohimahamasina. Rasoa explains, “There are now 16 people in this association who participate in the vegetable supply. I'm responsible for collecting the vegetables from the members and their delivery to the central storeroom. We have a big meeting before every cultivation season, to discuss how many vegetables we have to produce depending on the needs of the schools. 

She continues, “Since the COVID-19 pandemic, supplying vegetables has become our first source of income as there was little demand for the handmade sewing we did before, so our association suffered badly from lack of money. In the beginning, the income from supplying vegetables was just for the association. Still, the best thing is now the members who participate in the production of the vegetables get their own profit too.

“Every week, we deliver around 600 and 700 kgs. of vegetables (zucchini) for school canteens. However, we are encountering problems due to the lack of rain. If there is rain we produce much more. Due to the lack of rain, production has become less. 

We wish that this project continues because now, we have enough money to run our association well, and with our members getting a share of the profit, they have money to spare for medical care, school supplies, and home furniture.”  

Florence, a local supplier in Telombifolo

Introducing herself this local supplier says “I’m Florence, I started supplying the School Feeding Programme in 2022. Before that, I sold vegetables in the market and sent some to other regions, but the problem was that some of our clients in the other region did not pay, so I lost money frequently.

One day one of the school feeding programme suppliers talked with me while I was selling vegetables in the market and told me that there was an opportunity to supply the programme. Since that time, I have become a supplier. We are paid fairly and I don’t lose money anymore.

Our big problem is the lack of rain because we need to water vegetables twice a day, once in the morning and then again in the evening if we want to produce more. If there is enough rain, we produce a lot. If there isn’t enough rain, I usually use the water from the borehole that NY Tanintsika-Feedback Madagascar built in our village because it is near my vegetable field but for now, it is under repair. 

I wish that this School Feeding Programme continues because it provides food for the children and also it gives jobs and income to farmers like me.