Climate risks to resilience and food security in Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance Geographies: Madagascar

This Climate Risk Profile provides an overview of climate risks to food security and resilience in Madagascar, including an overview of current and projected climate impacts to agriculture, livestock, fisheries, water resources, natural resource management, and human health. The Profile is focused on USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) priority food security investment areas in south and southeast Madagascar, including areas of Androy, Anosy, and Atsimo Andrefana – collectively referred to as the Grand Sud - and Atsimo Atsinanana. The profile also includes information on Madagascar’s climate policy context and ongoing climate change adaptation and food security projects in the country. Recognizing the unique skills and knowledge that local populations in Madagascar bring to addressing climate risks, the Profile details specific risks to those communities living in highly vulnerable conditions, including women and youth and proposes illustrative climate risk management measures for consideration in USAID programming.

Madagascar regularly experiences climate shocks and stressors. As the most cyclone-prone country in Africa, Madagascar endures tropical storms that bring flooding and high winds, causing widespread destruction and loss of lives. In the south, communities also grapple with severe periods of drought that have led to widespread food insecurity, malnutrition, and near famine conditions for millions in recent years. As the climate continues to change, projections show that Madagascar will experience hotter days and warmer nights, increasingly sporadic rainfall that can exacerbate drought conditions, and stronger, more intense cyclones in the future.