Clove products sustain agroforestry, sustainable agriculture and farmers' incomes in Northeastern Madagascar
2020
Penot, Eric | Danthu, Pascal
Clove began to be planted in Madagascar on the eastern coast since 1910 originally by French settlers, rapidly followed by local farmers, attracted by this culture as a valuable cash crop. The current plantations, entirely smallholding, date from 1920-1930 and 1950-1970 planting booms. Some local farmers do profit from the current remaining resource more on a logic of “extractivism” when other farmers have a real a logic of plantation and do replant in particular since 2010 with good prices of clove products (clove bud and oil). Typhoons, diseases and ageing lead to a decrease in clove plots tree planting density and a move to parks and complex agroforestry systems. Currently, clove contributes globally to 50 % of rice purchases to assure farmers' food security in Fénérive-Est area. Clove cropping patterns are diverse: i) residual monoculture, ii) clove parks with annual crops and grazing period) and iii) clove complex agroforestry systems with timber trees and fruit trees. The clove tree has two different products: clove buds (irregular inter-annual production) and essential oil (regular annual production) with different management leading to different farmers' strategies. Market prices or both clove and oil are very volatil leading to changes in local strategies. However, clove prices are very good since 2010 and sustain a real replanting in Analajirofo/Fénérive-Est area and a boom in Mananara but not in Sainte Marie, the cradle of clove in Madagascar, mainly for social reasons. Income analysis shows that most farmers cope with decreasing clove production trough system diversification and increase of oil production, clove products being the main component of indirect food security in the area.
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