“Kajiala”, a study-report on the raffia sector of the Boeny Region

During the official presentation of the book (study-report), “Kajiala – valoriser les produits pour mieux conserver les forêts” (Kajiala – promoting products in order to better preserve the forests), last week, the Gesforcom team and other institutions highlighted the importance of the forestry resources both for the development of the local community in many regions Madagascar and for the creation of a multitude of economical activities.

Their study was performed mainly in the Regions of Alaotra-Mangoro and Boeny where three activities, namely the charcoal production, essential oil manufacturing and the exploitation of raffia could benefit from a training aiming to improve the production techniques of these products.

Concerning the raffia, it constitutes one of the main raw materials in the handicraft sector. The raffia brings benefits of approximately US$ 1 million for Madagascar. The country produces on average 4000 tonnes of raffia per year, 3310 of which are collected for commercial purpose. In fact, the production surface of raffia extends up to 50000ha in the country. The Boeny Region is the leading producer of raffia with an annual production of 1464 tonnes and a supply rate of 44,3% for the local demand. Unfortunately, the raffia is currently being endangered by the climate change phenomenon. Besides, this plant is being subjected to deforestation, bushfires and other practices that are harmful to the production of raffia.