Natural resource protection and sustainable agricultural production in the highlands of Madagascar

Protecting natural resources base is a prerequisite for ensuring sustainable agricultural development in many developing countries. In Madagascar, combating land degradation and soil erosion always get a top priority in order to sustain the livelihoods of the rural population in hilly areas and pursue a sustainable growth of the agriculture based economy. Therefore, this book investigates the linkage between various land management practices, the use of soil conservation measures and performance at the plot and farm levels, as well as the factors affecting farmers’ decision-making in the adoption of soil conservation measures. The results show that soil conservation measures have a small but long-term positive impact on crop productivity and farm income. Institutional factors in terms of tenure security, extension service, access to capital market and various socio-economic features of the farm-households, were key factors in determining adoption. Since former studies in Madagascar have revealed positive external effects of soil conservation measures that exceed by far their on-site effects, potentially efficient solutions for a sustainable land use and rural development in the study area rely upon providing farmers with adequate institutional frame conditions as well as with conservation-linked subsidies in order to encourage conservation activities, particularly on marginal lands.