Madagascar Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Value - Microlinks

Table 14: Enabling Business Environment
Scale Key Constraints / Opportunities
Norms and
standards,
unclear tax
protocols and
overlapping
ministries.
• Constraint: The lack of clear norms and standards for AMP products encourages
“opportunists” to jump into and exit the value chain, bypassing control. Poor quality
products hinder establishment of branded quality labels.
• Multiple levels of taxation and permits required of wildcrafters, collectors and
processors are a disincentive for MSEs in the chain. Lack of uniformity in their
application lead to confusion and marginalize MSEs.
• Planning capacity of national institutions exists at the central level (i.e., the Ministry of
Environment, Water and Forests and its multiple agencies: ONE, CNE, CIME) but are
less evident at the community and village level.
• Opportunity: Full participation of representative producer and collector MSEs in the
formulation process of norms and standards would improve the likelihood of
developing an appropriate and effective policy framework.
• Cultivators avoid the taxes and fees that are imposed on wildcrafting. A training
program could encourage some wildcrafters to increase knowledge of production
techniques for certain AMP plants.
• The proximity of Water and Forests and local authorities to producers should be
increased. Training agents in production and environmental dimensions of AMP
products will improve local participation in government-sponsored programs.
Certification • Constraint: Meeting certification standards is expensive and time-consuming for small
cultivator, collector and processing MSEs.
• Opportunity: Development of MSE support markets for local audits, certification
bodies and training facilities. Training is needed to improve knowledge and skills to
meet sustainability, fair trade and GACP standards.
• Increased competition among nascent BDS providers will lower prices and, if
decentralized, offer services closer to production and processing zones.
Overall AMP
strategy
• Constraint: Progressive depletion of high-value plant species and loss of biodiversity
affects all actors in the chain by reducing availability of raw material and limiting
opportunities to find new products. To counter this trend, producers must have
sufficient information and incentive to cultivate and harvest using sustainable strategies.
• Opportunities: The overall policy environment can be improved by establishing an
AMP sustainability framework, developing coherent rules and regulations with the
participation of actors from every value chain level, making the public aware of the
reasons behind regulations, and ensuring an enforcement mechanism. BDS providers
could provide training to public and private actors in sustainable techniques and market
relevance.
MADAGASCAR AROMATIC AND MEDICINAL PLANT VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS 46