Madagascar Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Value - Microlinks

the packets or herbal mixes sold by the respected IMRA the Institute Malgache de Recherches Appliquées, which conducts
rigorous applied research to each type of medication sold under its name.
During the last 15 years, the medicinal part of the AMP sector has been particularly active as seen through the success
of the Association nationale des tradi-praticiens (ANTP), an association with some 500 registered members. The
association, through a recently launched census, claims that about 10,000 individuals are involved in traditional healing
in Madagascar. This number encompasses several categories of individuals who grow or collect their own plants,
diagnose illnesses and practice traditional medicine. We can use this figure to make a rough estimate of the industry’s
importance in Madagascar. Traditional healers earn on average around 10,000 Ariary ($5.00) per day. 7 If we assume
that two-thirds of these individuals are engaged in diagnosing and providing healing services for 300 days per year, we
arrive at a domestic annual end-market of about $10 million.
A recent World Bank report, 8 describes the Government of Madagascar’s strong support of traditional medicine
through the creation of a commission to study the regulatory environment of traditional medicine in the country. The
committee has established general objectives, the most important of which is improving access for the population
(especially the most vulnerable) to quality care and service. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family
Planning and the ANTP, the commission prepared a Convention that lays out procedures for placing traditional
healers as partners with modern medicine professionals. The Ministry is responsible for assuring that traditional healer
practices are in harmony with the regulatory environment of the modern medical profession.
Another dimension of the local market is the development over the past five years of “wellness tourism” along with
its associated beauty products, health spas and eco-lodges. To date, these attract mostly local residents, but the aim is
to attract international tourists. The Ministry of Health recently gave approval to HOMEOPHARMA, a large local
pharmaceutical company, to enter the hospitality and wellness industry with its own brand of eco-lodges. Its program
includes stay and treatment at three industry-run eco-lodges, combined with visits to essential oil productions. 9
C. ENABLING ENVIRONMENT
1. GLOBAL
Madagascar is signatory to several conventions that impact its AMP sector:
• Madagascar is a party to and has ratified the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES). The signatories agree to cooperate in international trade to ensure that the survival of
wild animals and plants is not threatened. A recent example of a determination affecting Madagascar is listing a
moratorium on the trade of Prunos africana because the plant’s survival was threatened due to over-harvesting.
• Madagascar is signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and has been member since 1996. In
this context, Madagascar has developed national legislation to protect the intellectual property rights of local
populations to plant genetic material, based on the Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable
7 Interview with an ANTP board member.
8 IK Notes 91, Traditional Medicine Programmes in Madagascar,
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTINDKNOWLEDGE/Resources/iknt91.htm
9 This subsector includes an aggregate of the travel industry, essential oil, production, hotel rooms (e.g., Colbert, Amarina,
Nosey Bay Hotel, HOMEOPHARMA eco-lodges), restaurants, nature park fees, tour operators, organic food, doctor
consultations, guides and participating NGOs. The survey was not able to provide an estimate of the value of this industry,
but can only attest to its recent expansion and growth in capital investments.
MADAGASCAR AROMATIC AND MEDICINAL PLANT VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS 21