by RAKOTOVAO Baritia Sitrakiniaina from FEKRITAMA

Description

The farmer’s members of Fekritama, who are spread in 23 regions of Madagascar, have experienced significant difficulties in the practice of their respective sectors. Climate change is an essential factor that blocks farmers from carrying out their daily tasks; the climate and the lives of farmers are interdependent. They encounter difficulties, especially in producing their agricultural and livestock products and marketing.

The water sources are exhausted, the rivers have become dry, and it isn’t easy to find something to drink and use at home since only 15% of the Malagasy people benefit from water and electricity in Madagascar; the others, primarily the farmers, use water from natural springs and rivers. Additionally, family farmers are the primary victims of the confinement caused by COVID.

The farmers suffer the lack of income because they have no access to marketing because of the total confinement they cannot sell in due time products, which causes overproduction. Still, especially the spoilage of their products, for example, vegetables become stale if they are not sold for a few days. The farmers cannot afford to pay for refrigerators to ensure the conservation of vegetables. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the destruction of the environment because production no longer seemed profitable for farmers because of the confinement, so they cut down the trees in their villages to make charcoal and firewood to sell at the market.

For 33 years of existence, the Confederation Fekritama has managed to reforest more than 25,000 trees in 23 regions of Madagascar. The FEKRITAMA Confederation has a strategic plan elaborated according to the needs and aspirations of the farmers. The protection of the environment is part of the strategic axes of Fekritama since the activity of the farmers depends totally on the climate. Fekritama contribution to the improvement of the environment in Madagascar:

  • Sensitization and incitement of the beneficiary entities to renounce the practice of overgrowth and vegetation fires
  • Promote the valorization of the biodiversity channels; in economic terms while being concerned about their preservation and their perpetuation
  • To help farmers to manage their natural resources sustainably through the transfer of natural resource management
  • To support the peasant organizations of the base to practice the reforestation and the installation of green space.

Results

The practice will restore the natural environment, thus promoting a productive and sustainable ecosystem for farmers. It aims to create a rich ecosystem capable of providing the necessary elements for agricultural production. It consists of restoring and improving the environment for cultivation (or livestock on pasture) through agroforestry, reforestation, and assisted natural restoration of forests, particularly natural pastures, several species of which have tended to disappear in recent years. From a social point of view, the project will provide institutional and technical support and guidance to rural producers in creating and developing potentially exploitable value chains in the area to ensure the income sources of local communities in the restoration process. It will orient the society towards a common and healthier approach, leading to the integration of everyone towards sustainable development.

Climate smartness*

The interventions mentioned in this case reveal the importance of maintaining and boosting diversity in agroecological food systems. Maximizing on- and off-farm biodiversity, especially considering tree species brings with it a series of productive and nutritional benefits that result in socio-economic and environmental well-being for the community. This implicates greater food and income sources, creating market opportunities which in turn reduces the vulnerability of farmers to climatic and economic shocks. The use of local species with economic but also ecological importance are central in this case, in complement with the participatory design and execution of restoration plans and activities (either through reforestation or agroforestry). This increases not only the level of ecological resilience of the farms, but also strengthens local knowledge and potential ways of transmitting it by farmers, allowing them to find new opportunities to make sustainable use of available resources and ecosystems services. This case also materializes mitigation opportunities due to the integration or reincorporation of the tree stratum at different scales, which contributes to the fixation of atmospheric CO2 in plant biomass.

*This is done in the framework of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) approach. Climate-smartness in agriculture means understanding impacts of climate change and variability along with the agricultural activity, which includes the planning of what crop to plant, when to plant, what variety to plant and what type of management practices are needed to reduce the impact on the environment (e.g. emissions reduction), maintain or increase productivity (e.g. yields) while increasing resilience and improving livelihoods.