In this month of May, General Rabemanantsoa Robert is harvesting the rice, although he, like any other rice farmer, has endured the problem of drought. "Ketsa saraka", such is the technique that he implemented and of which he is moreover the designer.

A retired general officer, General Rabemanantsoa Robert was a senior officer in the Malagasy army at the time, but he is also very interested in rice-growing.

At the beginning, he transformed swamps, in the District of Antananarivo Atsimondrano, to make a rice field, and already at that time, the result was promising. And even more for this year, despite the drought due to the delay of the rainy season in the Analamanga region.

General Rabemanantsoa Robert has proven that climate change should not be an obstacle or an excuse not to produce, but it takes a curious and attentive mind to master the techniques of production for a better yield. For this rice growing season, he implemented the "Ketsa saraka", a technique which was inspired by the work of Father Henri Delaulanié, but which he then improved.

At the end of the season, the minimum yield is 8 tons per hectare. We started transplanting in November with the "Ketsa saraka" technique. Then we had to water the plants until the arrival of normal precipitation, the process left the observers perplexed, but the result undeceived them. It takes perseverance and a lot of time, says General Rabemanantsoa Robert.