Strategies of smallholder farmers for coping with the impacts of cyclones: A case study from Madagascar

In many tropical countries, smallholder farmers are highly vulnerable to cyclones and experience significant crop losses, food insecurity and income loss when cyclones hit. Madagascar has one of the highest rates of cyclones globally and a population comprised primarily of smallholder farmers, yet there is little information on how Malagasy smallholder farmers prepare for and cope with the cyclones. We conducted interviews with 200 Malagasy smallholder farmers following the impacts of cyclone Giovanna (a category 4 cyclone that struck in February 2012) to understand how farmers prepared for the cyclone, how the cyclone impacted their livelihoods and what strategies farmers used to deal with these impacts. Most farmers prepared for the cyclone by storing clean water; some also secured their buildings and stored food and seeds. Cyclone Giovanna caused substantial damage to crops, stored grains and houses, and significantly reduced farmer food security. Farmers coped with the cyclone by replanting crop fields, rebuilding homes with local materials, reducing consumption of staple foods, harvesting wild foods and finding temporary work to buy food. Informal social networks were critical for providing food and rebuilding houses. There is an urgent need for governments, donors, and development organizations to reduce the vulnerability of Malagasy smallholder farmers to cyclones by improving early warning systems, increasing farmer preparedness for cyclones, creating formal safety nets to help farmers access food and essential supplies following cyclones, and promoting the use of adaptation measures to enhance the resiliency of smallholder farmers to future climate shocks.