Highways versus Farmland: Madagascar's Crucial Development Conundrum.

A unassuming marker hammered into the soil near the Malagasy village of a rural community heralds a shift that will upend life here forever.

On a gentle, sunny weekday, the main sounds disturbing the 500 residents are the roosters calling and the intermittent rumble of a scooter.

However, this peace and tranquillity could well be broken.

If the project proceeds, then in two years' time, the community may be displaced and replacing it will be a modern highway.

Currently, Ambohidava lies around a considerable trip from the national capital Tana. Travel durations are expected to drop as the proposed road linking the capital to Toamasina goes straight into the middle of the village.

The wooden marker marks the proposed route for this major project.

This express route is designed to transform the nation's economic prospects, but it will come at a cost for local communities.

The gravity of the potential disruption on the villagers is immense.

A Life Built on the Land

One resident has resided in Ambohidava her entire life.

Now 70, she first started cultivating pineapples and rice with her family at the age of four. Her forebears have farmed here for countless years.

The primary characteristic you notice about her is her warm gaze.

Standing at a petite frame, she welcomes a visitor into the dwelling she shares with her husband offering a traditional Malagasy meal.

She has supported her family – including a child who cannot work due to living with mental health issues – with her harvests her all her life.

But now, the family's crops lie in the way of the highway project.

"It hurts me, I feel like I've been wronged," she says on a brief yet challenging walk down to her land.

"It is difficult because no-one has communicated with us about the plan. This is the property we have cultivated for generations. It's upsetting."

She also adds that no financial settlement has been finalized with the authorities. This is a claim that farmers repeatedly tell as one travels around the locality, but the authorities have vowed that compensation will be offered once the road is built.

The Project Advances

The first 8km (five miles) of the road was officially opened by the previous administration during a regional summit in the summer.

He was ousted in a coup in later, with the current administration saying it will maintain the development.

Built by a contractor , it will eventually stretch for some 160 miles and will have a toll of $4 (£2.90) for passenger vehicles and a higher rate for commercial vehicles to use.

Regarding funding for the estimated $1bn project, a fifth will come from the national treasury, with the balance from outside sources, such as the development banks.

The new pavement and obvious lanes of this first stretch stand in stark contrast with the unmarked, frequently potholed roads that make up much of national roads.

Currently, the trip connecting these two cities involves taking what is called Route National 2.

Progress along it can be tedious, as congestion on the narrow highway passes through villages and maneuvers past damage in the pavement. Elderly locals filling in potholes with dirt in exchange for small payments from travelers is a regular sight.

At a roadside area, we meet 35-year-old Reka.

He has been making this trip in his truck, carrying cargo, regularly for the last nine years.

"I need up to a full day to make the journey," he explains. The planners states the new highway will reduce this duration to a few hours.

"The current road is terrible. It's too small and there's congestion, which makes me anxious. That's why our country needs to construct new infrastructure," he adds, before heading on towards the coast.

Promised Economic Benefits

According to economic models, the new road will lead to a tripling of activity at the coastal hub, as well as create jobs in supporting sectors, such as hotels and petrol stations along the corridor.

It is also anticipated to help Madagascar to export more of its goods, including its prized agricultural exports.

All of this could deliver a much-required jumpstart to the economy in a nation where the World Bank says three in four people live in poverty.

The company also assert that the faster travel will help cut emissions by up to 30%.

Ecological Considerations

Madagascar is home to many endemic species, with more than 80% of its fauna found nowhere else on earth.

Conservation groups had been concerned that the project would bisect some of the country's untouched ecosystems, but it is now stated that this no longer will be the case. Instead, the path will now go through areas that had seen prior development for other purposes such as farming.

The government representative at the project launch, stated that the country was managing the equilibrium of protecting its heritage and environment with its progress appropriately.

"The first thing I want to see in our country is the progress of the country," he remarked, speaking near the place where