Economic Growth Madagascar Project #51523

Holistically Alleviating Poverty in Madagascar

by SEED Madagascar

Holistically Alleviating Poverty in Madagascar

Project Report | Feb 12, 2024
Empowering Beekeepers for Sustainable Livelihoods!

By Aaliyah Farah | Programmes and Office Intern

A local beekeeper inspecting a Renitantely hive

In pursuit of our goal to aid in the alleviation of poverty , SEED Madagascar (SEED) has embarked on a transformative initiative in six communities across the Anosy region, in an effort to support independent beekeepers to enhance their beekeeping as a viable and sustainable livelihood. Over the course of 2 years;2022 and 2023, SEED has been able to promote sustainable practices and economic resilience through project Renitantely. The project is helping beekeepers to expand their businesses into legal enterprises that are registered with the local government. 16 beekeepers have obtained hive codes from the regional ministry to legitimatize their business, and open doors for them to access various support markets offered by the government.

SEED provided 465 fruit tree seedlings and 155 vegetable seed packages to beekeepers in order to enhance bee productivity but also bolster the overall health of local ecosystems. This strategic approach not only benefits beekeepers by increasing honey yields but also contributes to the conservation of biodiversity in the region. SEED’s goal in fostering a symbiotic relationship between agriculture and apiculture is rooted in promoting long-term resilience and economic prosperity for both beekeepers and their communities.

The expansion of apiaries through the construction of 48 new modern hives represents a significant milestone in the effort to holistically fight poverty in the region. These new modern hives, equipped with frames designed for optimal honey production, not only increase the quantity of honey harvested but also improve its quality. Additionally, the expansion of apiaries creates opportunities for beekeepers to diversify their income streams by selling hive products such as beeswax, royal jelly, and propolis. By capitalizing on these additional revenue streams, beekeepers can strengthen their financial stability and improve their livelihoods. The expansion of apiaries contributes to the overall sustainability of beekeeping operations, ensuring the continued viability of this vital industry in the Anosy region.

New apiaries and frames sheltered by wooden fences

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Oct 18, 2023
Holistically Alleviating Poverty in Madagascar

By Betty Gisore | Programmes and Office Assistant, SEED Madagascar

Unprepared food distribution in -24 in 24 Campaign

SEED’s multifaceted approach to improve healthcare, education, livelihoods opportunities and environmental resilience, is helping protect the vulnerable environment and improve the long-term quality of people’s lives. To achieve this, SEED is providing knowledge, skills, and access to various facilities and resources.

To improve education, SEED has and continues to build schools, provide WASH facilities and learning resources like school benches. Under the schools’ project, Beraketa is the most recent. The three-room school building has been roofed, doors and windows installation are underway and the desk benches are under construction. This project is due for completion by end of October 2023.

Under the emergency food distribution programme, £24,100 was raised early this year to successfully deliver an additional round of food distribution to support communities at a time when vulnerability to food security was most pronounced. In this additional round, 378 children under age of 5 with acute malnutrition were supported with ready-to-use-therapeutic-food (RUTF) and an additional 2098 of their family members received unprepared food parcels. All children diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition and 349 out of the 350 with moderate acute malnutrition recovered, resulting in an overall recovery rate of 99.73%. To further support these communities, SEED is preparing for the next three-year stage of its Recovery and Resilience Programme, which aims to contribute to the reduction of acute malnutrition among children, improving health service delivery to better meet the needs of malnourished children and the community, promote positive social behaviour change to reduce susceptibility to malnutrition.

On the other hand, the bee keeping project is carrying out outreach efforts to gauge the interest of the new potential participants in preparation for subsequent recruitment into this income generating venture.

Beraketa school will serve a total of 129 students and seven teachers, the recovery and resilience programme aims to directly support 77, 038 people, and the bee keeping venture will add participants from 3 new communities into the project. Thanks to our donors, SEED continues to holistically alleviate poverty in Madagascar, through these and many other projects.

Beraketa primary school construction works

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Jun 21, 2023
Shifting from Emergency Food Distribution to Recovery and Resilience approach

By Kathryn Francis | Programmes and Office Assistant

Round IV formation

Since January 2021, SEED has supported communities across the Anosy region through the Emergency Food Distribution Programme. Despite ongoing interventions, food insecurity in Madagascar, particularly in the southeast, remains high, with 1.64 million people classified in Crisis or Emergency. Access to food has been severely diminished due to several factors including the region’s most severe drought since 1981, the long-term impacts of Covid-19, and two severe cyclones; Emnati and Batsirai. Recovering from the lean season, the number of people in need of urgent food assistance was expected to increase by 96,000 in March 2023.

The Emergency Food Distribution Programme has been successful in supporting 95 communities across 18 local health care centres, and has trained 190 community health workers across the Anosy region to identify moderate and severe acute malnutrition. Health behaviours have also improved through the increased use of family planning services, with 8,644 women and girls accessing family services since March 2022. In the latest round of food distribution in the South Site, there was an incredible 100% recovery rate for severe acute malnutrition and moderate acute malnutrition.

Building on the accomplishments of the programme, SEED is transitioning from a short-term approach to long term recovery and resilience. With the success of the 24-in-24 campaign which raised an incredible £24,000 in 24 days, SEED can continue to empower communities with the knowledge to make informed decisions on their health and wellbeing. By building the capacity of health care centres and community health workers, providing WASH information sessions and nutrition education, and increasing access to family planning, SEED aims to equip communities with the knowledge, skills and resources to build long-term resilience for the future.

Thank you for supporting SEED’s Emergency Food Distribution and Recovery and Resilience Programmes

Day 60 measurements

Round IV distribution

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