Key-words: Madagascar, rice-fish farming, food security
Madagascar is one of the countries most affected by malnutrition. 40 per cent of children under 5 years old suffer from chronic malnutrition ( Demographic and Health Survey, 2021). Causes of malnutrition are related to inadequate food practices and limited availability and accessibility of animal proteins . Indeed, the average fish consumption is only 4 kg/inhabitant/year , which is well below the African average (10 kg) and the global average (20 kg).
The NGO APDRA Pisciculture Paysanne works to improve the availability and accessibility of fish to the most vulnerable by supporting small-scale aquaculture production. Best practices for integrated carp (Cyprinus carpio ) farming in rice fields are fine tune to fit the local context and disseminated , through local advisors. This approach reaches more than 10,000 smallholders in the Malagasy Highlands. In addition, a network of more than 1,000 fingerlings producers ensures the fingerlings supply to rice -fish farmers in remote areas. As such, the integration of fresh water fish farming in rice pl ots not only allows to the production and access to animal proteins, but also to increase rice yield on the same plot by at least 10 per cent, using the same amount of water. It helps to diversify and increase the incomes of vulnerable smallholders . Hence, t he surveys conducted in 2020 of 41 fish producers have shown that fingerlings producers earn an average monthly income between 35 and 66 USD (80 to 150 per cent of the minimum income in Madagascar), while rice-fish farmers, earn between 9 and 15 USD per month from their fish sales (20 to 33 per cent of the minimum income in Madagascar) . On average, rice-fish farms produce 33 kg of fish each year.
Madagascar has about 150,000 ha of rice fields suitable for rice-fish farming. This area could support to the production of one third of the fish requirement of the country by 2040. However, in the context of climate change , new adaptations need to be design and scaled (water management, cycle schedule, collective management, etc. ) to ensure the rice-fish farming resilience and performance . Promoting technical and organizational innovations co-constructed with farmers will ensure that rice-fish farming in Malagasy Highlands remains resilient and can adapt to current and future conditions.