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Many geraniums dead, one computer scientist down

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Title Many geraniums dead, one computer scientist down
 
Creator Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
 
Description He started his career as a computer scientist at IBM in Montpellier, France. When David Rajaonson returned home to Madagascar, an unexpected niche opened up for him, in the form of low production of geraniums in neighbouring Réunion. How about growing geraniums? OK, why not? He could get his hands on 50 hectares of agricultural land outside the capital Antananarivo. He teaches himself agriculture, and off he goes. For 13 years his company, with its 60 agricultural workers, plants, gathers, distils and, in the end, exports essential oils from geraniums and other aromatic plants. And then one sad day an uncontrollable disease decimates his entire plantation.



'Being a farmer is the most difficult profession of all, David nods. A farmer has to deal with natural disasters, insects, shortages of fertiliser, not to mention the motivational problems of your personnel The international agencies will send no end of experts to study the problem but they contribute nothing new. All you see is a dribble of funding which doesn t get the results you expect. You know, the Malagasy farmer knows how to plant, and he knows his land. All he needs is the means. If you added up all the money spent over the decades on international expertise, you would have enough to pay for improved seed varieties, fertilisers, tractors, dams.' David in the meantime is looking to return full-time to his profession as a computer scientist.
He started his career as a computer scientist at IBM in Montpellier, France. When David Rajaonson returned home to Madagascar, an unexpected niche opened up for him, in the form of low production of geraniums in neighbouring Réunion. How about...
 
Date 2014-10-16T09:07:24Z
2014-10-16T09:07:24Z
1999
 
Type News Item
 
Identifier CTA. 1999. Many geraniums dead, one computer scientist down . Spore 84. CTA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
1011-0054
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/46553
 
Language en
 
Relation Spore;84
 
Publisher CTA
 
Source Spore