While agricultural policies have favored foreign or hybrid rice seeds for decades, deemed more productive, several traditional Malagasy varieties continue to survive in rural areas. Inherited through generations of farmers, they remain cultivated in certain regions despite their lower yields.
This phenomenon is particularly visible in the Central Highlands, where a few ancient varieties are still grown on a small scale. Among them are varivato, variharonga, varivaventy, varindinika, varidiavolana, varirojomena, varilavoataniratsy, varirojofotsy, varimaintisomotra, and varilavasomotra.
These names already appear in the “Manuscrit de l’Ombiasy” (Manuscript of the Ombiasy), preserved at the Malagasy Academy. This document lists the main crops cultivated between 1864 and 1866, before the profound agricultural transformations introduced during the colonial period. More than 160 years later, while the majority of these varieties have vanished from paddy fields, some still persist in specific localities.
In Ambohibary, Antsirabe, farmers still cultivate varirojo. In other regions, local seeds such as vary latsika are also preserved by a few producers committed to ancestral practices.
Their main asset is not yield; these varieties are valued primarily for their taste, culinary qualities, or adaptation to specific terroirs. Their reputation is often passed down from generation to generation. The case of the “red rice” (or vary mangitry) from the North illustrates this enduring attachment to local varieties.
According to an agronomist who requested anonymity, the widespread use of improved seeds contributes progressively to the decline of traditional varieties. “Since the 1990s, foreign seeds have been presented as the solution to increase production. However, the gradual disappearance of local varieties raises the question of preserving our agricultural heritage,” he believes.
The promotion of high-yield seeds is part of a long-standing policy. As early as the 1980s, the goal of food self-sufficiency was already among the priorities of the 1986-1990 Five-Year Plan.
Hasina Giovanni
Captured & Published at: 2026-06-23 07:30:03 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/06/agriculture-des-semences-de-riz.html