Holding back the winds of change in Madagascar…with the sisal plant

The Lid is On

The cultivation of sisal plants by some of the most vulnerable communities in southern Madagascar is helping to tackle desertification and allow people to stay on their land, thanks to a project by the UN Development Programme.

The seasonal Tiomena wind, a fiercely strong wind that blows over the coastline, has driven sandy soils across productive farmland forcing many people to give up their subsistence farming activities.

But the planting of sisal has helped to reverse the trend as Daniel Dickinson reports for the Lid is On Podcast from southern Madagascar.