Mob justice and ‘The civilized commodity’

Neimark, Benjamin; Osterhoudt, Sarah; Blum, Lloyd; Healy, Timothy M.

doi:10.1080/03066150.2019.1680543

Cited by 20 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…As explained earlier, contracted vanilla HHs that own moreand larger -vanilla plots than non-contracted farmers (Hänke et al 2018, in review) may not dispose of the necessary time, labor or knowledge to diversify their income. Also, given the current high prices, vanilla theft has increased dramatically in the SAVA region (Hänke et al 2018, in review;Neimark et al 2019) and many farmers reallocate agricultural labor and substantial amounts of money to protect their harvest (Llopis et al 2020). In this way, vanilla farmers become increasingly dependent on vanilla and are more vulnerable to shocks such as theft or vanilla price drops.…”

Section: Factors Influencing Food Security and Consumption Of Asfmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies also indicate that not all vanilla farming HHs have equally benefitted from the vanilla boom, partly due to high inflation of local food and living costs (Hänke and Fairtrade International 2019;Llopis et al 2020). Also, many vanilla farming HHs reallocate labor to secure vanilla fields as there is high theft pressure (Hänke et al 2018, in review;Neimark et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Food security and food quality among vanilla farmers in Madagascar: the role of contract farming and livestock keeping

2021

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The northeastern SAVA region of Madagascar is the largest vanilla producing area in the world and is flourishing due to a large global demand for natural vanilla. Although the general socio-economic situation has regionally improved because of high vanilla prices, little is known about the nutritional status of local vanilla farmers. We used a 12-month longitudinal food survey to analyze food security, food consumption and nutrient intake of local vanilla farming households (n = 140). Food consumption data was complemented with baseline, agro-economic, longitudinal and field-plot information to determine factors influencing food security, and the contribution of protein from Animal Source Food (ASF_protein) to household nutrition using a stepwise generalized linear model. Results show a high level (74%) of food insecurity and micronutrient deficiency but an acceptable level of protein intake among surveyed households. Consumption of rice, the principal source of carbohydrates, is stable across the year. Compared to other regions in Madagascar, local diets are moderately diversified with an acceptable share of ASF_protein (about 50%). Household size (P < 0.001) and cash income from rice sales (P < 0.001) were the most important factors influencing the food security index (FSI), while cash crop income (P < 0.01) and number of income sources (P < 0.01) were more important in the explanation of the dietary share of ASF_protein. Yet, neither livestock ownership nor contracting with vanilla buyers/exporters did improve food security of the surveyed households. Households who concluded contracts were significantly less food secure than non-contracting households (P = 0.01) with seasonal fluctuations across the year. Policy implications of our findings are that, although many actors of the vanilla value chain run social and environmental programs in the SAVA region, more needs to be done to improve diet quality at household level and strengthen farmers’ resilience to food insecurity.

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Section: Factors Influencing Food Security and Consumption Of Asfmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food security and food quality among vanilla farmers in Madagascar: the role of contract farming and livestock keeping

2021

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“…In a four‐month period in 2017, an estimated 25 accused vanilla thieves died in mob attacks in the Mananara region, while the vanilla‐producing regions north of Mananara saw more than 100 such killings (Neimark et al. 2019). 5…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In such ways, vigilante justice is described not as protecting income but as defending the collective, rural Malagasy way of life (Neimark et al. 2019).…”

Section: Collective | Individualmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Nobody wants to kill”

Osterhoudt

2020

American Ethnologist

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Vanilla prices in Madagascar have reached historic highs. For the country's vanilla-producing smallholders, the influx of new wealth has resulted in profound affective changes-in large part owing to vanilla theft, which has become widespread. Anxiety and anger are rampant in vanilla-producing communities, and these feelings are increasingly channeled into deadly mob violence against accused thieves. Rather than random acts, these extrajudicial killings are structured by localized cultural, material, and affective forms, as people enact and embody commodity violence in intimate, often contradictory ways. Commodity violence emerges as an additional form of unwanted emotional and physical labor for smallholders. With the vanilla market, as with commodity markets more generally, it is those with the least to gain who are disproportionately exposed to violence and harm. [commodity booms, affect, structure of feeling, vigilante violence, smallholders, vanilla, Madagascar] Niakatra be ny vidin'ny lavaný ao Madagasikara tato hoato. Nisy fiantraikany goavana amin'ireo mpamokatra lavaný madinika ao antoerana anefa izany fiakarana harena vaovao izany-indrindra nohon'ny halatra lavaný izay nirongatra be ihany tato hoato. Manjaka loatra ny tahotra sy ny hatezerana eny anivon'ny fiaraha-monin'ny mpamokatra lavaný, hany ka lasa mampihatra fitsaràm-bahoaka amin'ireo voapanga sy voatonontonona ho mpangalatra ny olona. Tsy tongatonga hoazy anefa izany fitsaràm-bahoaka izany, fa zavatra volavolain'ny olona avy amin'ny kolotsaina sy ny dinam-pokonolona eo antoerana, ampiharina amin'ireo manao herisetra aterakin'ny fiakaran'ny vidim-bokatra, izay matetika mifanohitra amin'ny fomba tokony ho izy ihany. Lasa manampy trotraka ny fahasahiranan'ny mpamokatra madinika ny fisian'ny herisetra aterakin'ny fiakaran'ny vidim-bokatra, na ara-pihetseham-pó izany, na ara-batana. Ireo mpamokatra madinika no tena iharan'ny voina sy fahavoazana, na eo amin'ny sehatry ny tsenan'ny lavaný izany, na eo amin'ny sehatry ny tsenam-bokatra ankapobeny. [firoboroboam-bokatra, fiantraika, fifandroritan-kevitra, fitsaràm-bahoaka, mpamokatra madinika, lavaný, Madagasikara] Le cours de la vanille à Madagascar a atteint de nouveaux records. Pour les petits producteurs de vanille du pays, cette nouvelle richesse est venue avec de profonds changements affectifs en grande partie dus à l'explosion des vols de vanille. L'anxiété et la colère qui sévissent dans les communautés productrices de vanille se manifestent de plus en plus par le lynchage des individus mis en cause. Loin d'être aléatoires, ces exécutions extrajudiciaires sont l'expression de formes culturelles, matérielles et affectives localisées qui se manifestent par l'adoption et l'incarnation de la brutalité marchande de manières intimes et souvent contradictoires. Pour les petits producteurs, cette brutalité marchande apparaît comme une tâche émotionnelle et physique indésirable qui s'ajoute dans le cadre de leur travail. Sur le marché de la vanille, comme c'est le cas en général sur les marchés des produi...

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“…Further, there are heterogeneities among farmers in the degree of economic benefits from vanilla cultivation, such that some farmers have high productivity and income, while a large proportion have a relatively low yield and income-earning potential (Hänke et al, 2018;Martin, Wurz, et al, 2020a, Martin, Osen, et al, 2020b. Extreme weather events, like cyclones, have the potential to devastate crops (Brown, 2009), and theft is a growing problem (Neimark et al, 2019). The value of vanilla on the international market is also subject to extreme volatility, making income at the farm gate highly unpredictable (Hänke et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food insecurity related to agricultural practices and household characteristics in rural communities of northeast Madagascar

Herrera

Rabezara²,

Ravelomanantsoa

et al. 2021

Food Sec.

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Ending hunger and alleviating poverty are key goals for a sustainable future. Food security is a constant challenge for agrarian communities in low-income countries, especially in Madagascar. We investigated agricultural practices, household characteristics, and food security in northeast Madagascar. We tested whether agricultural practices, demographics, and socioeconomics in rural populations were related to food security. Over 70% of respondents reported times during the last three years during which food for the household was insufficient, and the most frequently reported cause was small land size (57%). The probability of food insecurity decreased with increasing vanilla yield, rice yield, and land size. There was an interaction effect between land size and household size; larger families with smaller land holdings had higher food insecurity, while larger families with larger land had lower food insecurity. Other socioeconomic and agricultural variables were not significantly related to food insecurity, including material wealth, education, crop diversity, and livestock ownership. Our results highlight the high levels of food insecurity in these communities and point to interventions that would alleviate food stress. In particular, because current crop and livestock diversity were low, agricultural diversification could improve outputs and mitigate food insecurity. Development of sustainable agricultural intensification, including improving rice and vanilla cultivation to raise yields on small land areas, would likely have positive impacts on food security and alleviating poverty. Increasing market access and off-farm income, as well as improving policies related to land tenure could also play valuable roles in mitigating challenges in food security.

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Mob justice and ‘The civilized commodity’

Cited by 20 publications

References 41 publications

Food security and food quality among vanilla farmers in Madagascar: the role of contract farming and livestock keeping

Food security and food quality among vanilla farmers in Madagascar: the role of contract farming and livestock keeping

“Nobody wants to kill”

Food insecurity related to agricultural practices and household characteristics in rural communities of northeast Madagascar

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