Madagascar Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Value - Microlinks

have begun facilitating informal associations of wildcrafters as a means of improving product reliability, quality and
traceability. Wildcrafters generally have little time, information or interest in managing natural resources. However,
those grouped together through an NGO or supported by professional processors and buyers appear more
productive, better informed and more interested in protecting nearby plant life than do non-organized wildcrafters.
Furthermore, NGOs frequently link community organizing around AMP to provision of community health services.
For example, export firms such as Label CBD and Phael Flor structure prices to cover costs of village clinics and
nurses while maintaining their own price competitiveness.
Cultivators and Plantation Operators: These actors are distinguished from wildcrafters by their purchasing power,
which allows them to access a bicycle or public transport to take them and their goods to and from regional markets,
where they can gather market information and establish relationships beyond the village level. They are able to buy
seeds or starter plants from sources that can provide them with rough price information. Subsequently, they can better
respond to market demand and have a better chance of negotiating prices than wildcrafters.
Cultivators plant aromatic and medicinal plants in addition to other crops usually in a separate part of the land and on
a small scale, but have insufficient knowledge of production norms. Small-scale cultivators are MSEs and can upgrade
their farming enterprise if opportunities arise in response to buyers who need plants that are difficult to source from
the wild. Such is the case for Artemesia annua, which is sought by pharmaceuticals for its anti-malarial qualities.
BIONEXX, a private for-profit company operating in Madagascar, has sought cultivators with small landholdings to
plant the Artemsia (see Photo 2). Through representatives in villages, the company provides seeds and fertilizer and
technical instructions for growing the plant from nursery to maturity, harvesting, drying and storing. The company
announces a purchase price (5,500 Ariary/kg) within 4-5 months of planting but states it will negotiate a final price
when the plant reaches maturity. BIONEXX indicates it will collect the dried products from the production fields.
The cost of entry is relatively low under this model and cost recovery can only be calculated after a trial season.
AMP production in plantations (most are from 10 to 70 ha) permits closer
relations to end-market players, since they are generally operated under the
management of large domestic market suppliers or exporting firms. Typical
AMP produced in plantations are clove, cinnamon, eucalyptus and recently
ravintsara (C. camphora). Employment ranges from 4-5 people to several
hundred. In the area surveyed, we estimated approximately 15 plantations.
Plantations provide a more stable production base and greater control over
quality. Production is organized and is trending towards respecting norms
of good agricultural practice (GAP). Participants have an understanding of
their role within the value chain. The plantation model requires investment
in management, training, equipment and labor, which makes financing an
issue. Plantations initially do not promote biodiversity within their growing
area, nor does the growing environment replicate the soil, ground cover or
canopy of a natural setting. However, plantations provide a scaled option to
regenerate endangered plant and tree species. Health care and health
information are usually provided to employees under the plantation model.
Plantations are more able to become certified organic than other producers
(although it can be costly, time consuming and requires rigorous
management) as they can better control production, provide traceability and
PHOTO 2
BIONEXX poster instructing
potential Artemisia cultivators on
proper techniques; on wall of
villages shop used as collection
point.
input supply records, and can more easily pay for support services, even if these are scarce in the AMP sector.
MADAGASCAR AROMATIC AND MEDICINAL PLANT VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS 29