The MaMaBay region in the north of Madagascar is in particularly great need of protection as one of the world’s most biodiverse places. But rapid population growth and a lack of income sources have led farmers to cultivate swathes of forest for foodstuffs, cocoa, cloves and vanilla. This deforestation erodes the soil and reduces its fertility, thereby further accelerating the exploitation of cultivation areas and hence deforestation. This is where HALBA, together with its partners, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the German International Development Agency (GIZ), comes in with its sustainability project. The project has been ongoing since 2019.
The project promotes the sustainable cultivation of cocoa through dynamic agroforestry (DAF). Its objective is to establish a new cocoa value chain that will improve income opportunities in the region. This is intended to reduce the farmers’ dependency on vanilla, currently their only export product, and contribute to their food safety.
With DAF, farmers can grow a wide range of other food products in addition to vanilla and cocoa all year round on less land, which yields them a higher income and ensures that their food needs are met. At the same time, forests that are essential for biodiversity are retained and protected. 200 farmers are set to cultivate 90 hectares of DAF by 2024. 32 farmers were trained as agroforestry trainers, who have been supporting 175 farmers in converting their plots into dynamic agroforestry plots since 2022. In the meantime, 51 hectares of DAF areas have been created. The sustainability project also supports two cooperatives in improving their organisational structures and expanding the cocoa value chain.
