USAID Madagascar recently released three inspiring short films to tell the story of Malagasy vanilla farming cooperatives. The films highlight how their partnership with USAID, NCBA CLUSA, Tetra Tech, and McCormick Spices is raising farmers incomes, conserving forests, building communities, and securing better livelihoods for farmers and future generations.
Through the USAID Mikajy Activity, NCBA CLUSA and our partners work to foster sustainable and inclusive economic growth by linking biodiversity conservation and improved natural resource management with sustainable livelihood development. The five-year (2018-2023) project in Madagascar is designed to advance biodiversity conservation in forest and coastal ecosystems, strengthen natural resource management and land tenure security among vulnerable populations, and promote sustainable economic growth in rural communities in the Menabe and MaMaBay landscapes.
The first short film in this series focuses on forest and biodiversity conservation through sustainable vanilla farming by following a local farmer named Razafy. Razafy highlights the importance of sustainable vanilla production and the benefits of working with farmer cooperatives on to preserve forests and biodiversity.
The second film in this series highlights economic growth through farmer cooperatives with local farmer, Jean Michel. This film follows Jean Michel on his journey from small scale fisherman to the president of the vanilla farmer cooperative called “Mirary Soa”, or “best wishes” in Malagasy. Jean Michel’s story shows the value cooperatives bring to sustainable vanilla production, and the success farmer communities can have when they work together in a cooperative.
In the last installment of this movie series, a dynamic vanilla farmer named Lucia shows us how working with a cooperative has helped her and her family overcome tough times and realize their dreams. Lucia’s story illustrates the meaningful impact the unique partnership between McCormick Spices, NCBA CLUSA, Tetra Tech, and USAID Madagascar has had on communities in Madagascar.