Liaison Office for Rural Training Institutions (BMITT)

The Liaison Office for Rural Training Institutions (BMITT) is a new Development and Peace partner in Madagascar. Its major focus is economic, social, cultural and spiritual development in rural areas. The group brings together Christian associations and training centres that work closely with the island’s rural population and can provide training to small-scale farmers who face many challenges. Seizures of their land by foreign-owned companies, inadequate means of production and fragile government institutions, place added strains on the struggle of these farmers to overcome hunger and poverty.

Despite these challenges, the groups receiving BMITT training are achieving notable successes. For instance, the Caritas Manajary project, which focused on increasing rice production in the Vatovavy Fitovinany region, has changed the lives of 1,000 rice-farming families. By being shown how to use carefully selected seeds and organic fertilizers, these families saw their production rise by 50 percent in 2009. As a result, they are no longer living in constant fear of hunger.