The Kere of Madagascar: a qualitative exploration of community experiences and perspectives

Abstract

The Kere is a recurrent famine occurring in the south of Madagascar that emerged substantively in the 1930s. Each major event claims thousands of lives and keeps many in a cycle of impoverishment, despite the existence of various aid-based responses. This assessment presents qualitative research exploring two Kere-affected communities' experiences of the phenomenon. Through focus group discussions, we learn that the Kere is a complex social-ecological disaster, compounded by an intricate chain of causation and impacts. Seeking a deep understanding of affected peoples' perceptions and experience of the phenomenon, this paper challenges the idea that the Kere is a famine caused by recurring drought that can only be solved with provision of water and aid-based solutions. Based on community views and research literature, and the application of Ostrom's social-ecological systems framework, we demonstrate that the Kere is a phenomenon compounded by multiple interacting, debilitating factors including deforestation, drought, pests and diseases, food insecurity, extreme poverty, lawlessness, and political malaise; thus, solutions require a comprehensive, sustained, holistic response.

As proficient as adults: Distribution of children's knowledge of wild edible plants in the arid Mahafaly region, Madagascar

“…Recent work has stated that indigenous food system vulnerability to disaster might be approached emphasising the socio-ecological system framework while addressing several aspects of this system such as the historical, human, economic, environmental and governance dimensions (Jackson, 2020). Indeed, according to historical sources and local experiences (Ralaingita et al, 2022), despite the current food crisis with a debated climatic origin, the region experienced several episodes of intense drought followed by food crises in the 1920 and 1930. Furthermore, the 200 years of French colonisation ended in 1960 has also deeply affected the local knowledge system's integrity and thus its resilience (Raschke & Cheema, 2008).…”

Technical Report: Southern Madagascar food insecurity

“…For many local communities, rain-fed subsistence-oriented agriculture implies that when the dry spells strike, farmers need to find other sources of income (Ralaingita and others, 2022). Due to a lack of livelihood diversification, the services provided by forests, such as the provisioning of fuelwood, medicinal plants, animal fodder and wood for charcoal production, become a viable alternative to have access to food and income during drought periods (Brinkmann and others, 2014).…”

“…Around 91 per cent of the population in southern Madagascar lives below the poverty line, implying that at least 3.5 million people in the country earn less than $1.90 per day (Healy, 2018;Amnesty International, 2021). Under such dire conditions, combined with prolonged drought, increasing sandstorms and pest infestations, the "access" to food becomes a challenge pushing the population into a vicious cycle of poverty, hunger and malnutrition (Ralaingita and others, 2022;Hänke, 2016). Malnutrition produces conditions of poverty by reducing the economic potential of the population, and likewise, poverty reinforces malnutrition by increasing the risk of food insecurity (Siddiqui and others, 2020).…”

“…This is particularly critical in the south, where most of the population lives in rural areas and depends heavily on the use of natural resources as the primary source of food and income (Randrianarison and others, 2020). When hunger strikes, rural communities have to find other ways to survive that may not be so sustainable, like expanding the practice of slash and burn and overharvesting trees for charcoal and cooking wood, increasing the deforestation rate in the region (Ralaingita and others, 2022). Such misuse of available natural resources without considering more environmentally-oriented livelihood practices can also be connected to the legacy of colonialism and the historically ineffective governance that has neglected the needs of both local communities and nature (USAID, 2022; Rice, 2022).…”

Strong seasonality in diets and alarming levels of food insecurity and child malnutrition in south-eastern Madagascar

“…To design well-targeted policies and sustainable development interventions, a more fine-tuned understanding is needed of how food (in)security is experienced locally by different types of households and at different points in time. Recently, the 'Great South' region of Madagascar has received increased attention in the media and academia due to an extreme hunger crisis triggered by prolonged drought (Ahmed and Razafison, 2021;Makoni, 2021;Ralaingita et al, 2022). Less has been documented, however, about the state of food and nutrition security and what it means for people in similarly stressed regions in Madagascar, including the south-eastern Atsimo-Atsinanana region (but see Randrianarison et al, 2020;Moore et al, 2022).…”