Assessing farmers’ income vulnerability to vanilla and clove export economies in northeastern Madagascar using land-use change modelling


Date

2023

Publication Type

Journal Article

ETH Bibliography

yes

Citations

Altmetric

Data

Abstract

Using a participatory Bayesian network-based land-use decision model, we simulate future land-use patterns under various scenarios, including changes in vanilla and clove market prices as well as changes in irrigation water availability and potential harvest failures. Findings indicate that specifically the vanilla value chain (compared to the clove value chain) has a major influence on farmers income vulnerability. Abandoning vanilla cultivation may lead to poverty once income from vanilla reaches a certain threshold. By comparing farmer’s income gains from cash crop production with costs for buying rice to cover basic needs, we show that while focusing on cash crop production is more lucrative, it is, however, highly risky with regard to climate change, price volatility and possible crop thefts. Such lock-in-effects in cash crops, like the vanilla ones in northeastern Madagascar, are essential to be considered, when designing policies for a more sustainable development of resource-rich but poverty-prone regions.

Publication status

published

Editor

Book title

Volume

18 (1)

Pages / Article No.

55 - 83

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Event

Edition / version

Methods

Software

Geographic location

Date collected

Date created

Subject

Bayesian network; cloveland use; Madagascar; vanilla; vulnerability

Organisational unit

03823 - Grêt-Regamey, Adrienne / Grêt-Regamey, Adrienne check_circle
02655 - Netzwerk Stadt u. Landschaft ARCH u BAUG / Network City and Landscape ARCH and BAUG

Notes

Funding

177592 - Managing telecoupled landscapes for the sustainable provision of ecosystem services and poverty alleviation (SNF)
152167 - SNF R4D (SNF)

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