Many geraniums dead, one computer scientist down

cg.contributor.affiliationTechnical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperationen
cg.howPublishedFormally Publisheden
cg.identifier.urlhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/99586en
cg.issn1011-0054en
cg.journalSporeen
cg.number84en
cg.placeWageningen, The Netherlandsen
dc.contributor.authorTechnical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperationen
dc.date.accessioned2014-10-16T09:07:24Zen
dc.date.available2014-10-16T09:07:24Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/46553
dc.titleMany geraniums dead, one computer scientist downen
dcterms.abstractHe 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...en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.bibliographicCitationCTA. 1999. Many geraniums dead, one computer scientist down . Spore 84. CTA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.en
dcterms.descriptionHe 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.en
dcterms.isPartOfSporeen
dcterms.issued1999
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.publisherTechnical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperationen
dcterms.typeNews Item

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