New farming practices have transformed the cinnamon value chain in Madagascar and are helping create climate-resilient livelihoods.

Cinnamon cultivation is a common, long-standing activity on the east coast of Madagascar and the cinnamon from the Vatomandry district in the Atsinanana region is among the best of the world. 

The tree is also an excellent climate-resistant crop growing well in depleted soils, being resistant to fire – even repeated fires – and having a strong ability to survive disease. This also makes it ideal for land restoration. 

Yet it is for these very reasons that, until recent years, this sweet spice was cultivated haphazardly and received little special attention. Because of their hardy qualities, cinnamon trees were left to seed naturally and grew in unimproved soil. They relied on the rainy season for water to grow and were harvested only once a year. 

“We had not thought that cinnamon could provide us with significant returns that would increase our income,” explains Joseph Odon from the Tafa Cooperative – a small group of 93 farmers in Vatomandry district which is a member of the Confederation of Malagasy Farmers, or Fekritama. 

Today, with financial and technical support from the FFF channelled through Fekritama, several producer organizations in the region – including Tafa Cooperative and MAISO Cooperative – have successfully transformed their cinnamon value chains. 

Developing a cinnamon value chain

Producers who are part of Fekritama had been growing cinnamon for 5-10 years, but started receiving technical support from the FFF in July 2021. 

Members took part in practical training on how to establish a tree nursery, employ agroforestry practices and diversify crops. In addition, they built capacity in the use of organic fertilizers and irrigation, as well as soil levelling and terracing techniques. Members also became skilled in producing cinnamon sticks (or quills) by hand – a tricky technique to master – and learned about market development and access to markets. Exchange visits to other cooperatives followed to share experiences and to capitalize on acquired knowledge. 

Today, members have set up nurseries and are actively cultivating cinnamon – directly planting the trees on fertilized soil on terraces or low slopes. Members actively maintain their trees through pruning and shading, and the crop is irrigated using retention basins. And the result? The cinnamon yield has been transformed – the stems are longer and the harvest is earlier and more frequent. The time from seedling transplantation to first cutting has halved and is now only 1.5 years (as opposed to 3 or 4 years). What’s more, thanks to these new practices, cinnamon can now be harvested twice a year or three times every two years instead of only once. 

“Shortening the unproductive period and achieving multi-year production after first cutting of the cinnamon stems has increased our income from this crop by 200-300%,” explains Jeanne De La Croix from Fekritama. 

This also means many farmers are now choosing to grow cinnamon instead of cloves which have a longer production cycle. 

Working together

Cinnamon production involves the whole community. Men are generally involved in constructing the nursery beds and shade structures to shield the cinnamon trees from the harsh sun. They also maintain the trees and harvest the cinnamon stems. Women typically plant the seedlings in the nursery and are instrumental later on during the processing phase – first scraping the bark from the stems by hand, then creating curled cinnamon sticks from the inner bark, before laying the spice out to dry. Men and young people tend to transport the harvested cinnamon to the packaging areas. 

It takes time to reap the benefits of these new practices, but the community are already experiencing the sweet taste of success and are motivated to invest more.

 "Thanks to the capitalization of our knowledge gained through training, awareness-raising, exchanges, and sharing, we are convinced that cinnamon is a value chain that can drive development, and we have begun to draw up business plans for the future,” says Archil Paulin from MAISO cooperative. 

Although it is still early days, members can see how they will be able to improve their living conditions and improve access to education for their children through their increased income. And, importantly, the benefit is not just financial. Due to its ability to survive in harsh climatic conditions, cinnamon is also helping these communities build a climate-resilient future. 

Video

Watch Fekritama’s video about agroforestry cinnamon cultivation in Atsinanana

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