Adaptation of Agricultural Value Chains to Climate Change

projekt beendet

ContextMadagascar is one of the world’s poorest countries. Vanilla, cloves and lychees are just a handful of the agricultural products that the country grows. Agriculture accounts for around a quarter of Madagascar’s gross domestic product and the sector provides a livelihood for the majority of the population, employing around 80 percent of the active population. People’s dependency on natural resources is therefore high.The island nation is one of the countries most affected by the impact of climate change. Heavy rainfall, hurricanes and drought – extreme weather events are becoming more and more frequent in Madagascar. Rising sea levels and loss of fertile land are also affecting the country. Agriculture needs to be adapted to the effects of climate change in order to protect the livelihoods of many people. This will also enable long-term sustainable development in Madagascar.The country is dominated by small-scale farming and people mostly cultivate crops on fragmented and poorly accessible land. Farmers and the processing industry are poorly organised and often apply traditional farming and processing. All in all, the productivity of agriculture remains at a low level, resulting regularly in serious food crises.ObjectiveThe performance of the actors implicated in agricultural value chains particularly affected by climate change is increased.ApproachThe project is implemented on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in Anosy, Androy and Atsimo-Atsinanana and is also cofinanced by the European Union. The main partner is the Malagasy Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. The national meteorological institute and the Ministry of Finance are also key implementing partners. On the regional level, the project is working with the chambers of commerce and industry, local farmers’ associations and private companies, to name just few.At the beginning of the project, relevant value chains have been selected in the three regions. Development activities aim at improving the production, processing and marketing of peanuts, millet/sorghum, honey, ginger, maritime fishery, castor oil plants, goats/sheep, onions and a cluster consisting of coffee/cloves/pepper/vanilla. The aim is to boost the efficiency of the various actors by applying systematic and action-based methods.The project also intends to improve the structural framework in which the auteurs operate. This includes developing sound agricultural policies, and improving organisation and cooperation between the actors. Access to equipment will be made easier and production and processing methods and technology modernised.Supporting a production chain also includes adapting it to climate change which will ensure long-term development. To achieve this, the access of agricultural value chains to agrometeorological and agricultural advisory services will be improved. Lastly, the project will support the introduction of climate risk insurance. This means that actors in the agricultural sector will be able to cover themselves against loss of income caused by climate and weather-related events.Selected activities are going to be digitalised, ensuring that information about the market, measures to help the country adapt to climate change, and climate risk insurance can be accessed by people in more remote areas.ResultsIn the first year of implementation, the project supported the meteorological institute to improve data collection and processing. A programme to predict moisture levels in the soil has been adapted to the country context and people who work in the Madagascan meterological service have been train in its application. For some agricultural crops, harvest calendars have been updated and digitalised so that farmers can now access them on their mobile phones.The project can also report successes in terms of professionalising value chain actors and improving market access, by, for example, connecting producers with companies and private investors. This has enabled six cooperatives with a total of more than 500 members to conclude contracts with the private sector. The development of the national strategy to support cooperatives has been supported in collaboration with the German and US federation of cooperatives.A game to raise awareness of insurance against climate risks has also been created. This is available via a hotline. Around 300,000 people played the game in the first six months after its release.

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