Diversifying rice-based systems to enhance household nutrition, food security and women empowerment
Madagascar has a high malnutrition rate, ranking it as the 5th country suffering from chronic malnutrition in the world, with 42% of children under 5 years old. Given the environmental crises caused by climate change, along with political and socio-economic instability, addressing malnutrition requires interventions to strengthen an inclusive and sustainable farming system. Rice remains a staple food and thus occupies an especially prominent place in the farming systems on the island. The rice systems acknowledge the essential role of women, as labourers and take the lead in testing and disseminating technologies. Innovations that improve productivity of rice expand the outlook to the household needs, integrating sub-systems that allow maximizing production and improving farming system resilience while addressing objectives of interest including women empowerment and household nutrition. The recently concluded BRECOMA project (Building Resilience to Enhance Food, Incomes and Nutrition Security in the Comoros and Madagascar), led by Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), illustrated such perspective of diversifying agricultural production through introduction of new crops, testing climate-resilient agro-ecological practices, facilitating access to market through structuring of producers and improving nutrition of vulnerable groups through social inclusion. This project was implemented from March 2022 until March 2025 in Analamanga, Itasy and Vakinankaratra regions of Madagascar.
The story of RAHANTANIRINA Jeanne Florence is an outcome of her engagement in BRECOMA. She is one of the beneficiaries of the project in the Vakinankaratra Region, more precisely from the District of Betafo. In this district alone, between 2022 and 2024, AfricaRice introduced three new red rice varieties, good agricultural practices extending to crop diversification. To illustrate, 485 farmers (62% women) adopted new red rice varieties, 693 farmers (65.5% women) learned good agricultural practices through on-farm demonstrations, and 86 farmers were introduced to rice-fallow-legume and vegetable systems to improve soil fertility and diversify family nutrition.
Among the tested and evaluated crops were chia seeds and African vegetables such as amaranth, African eggplant, and black nightshade. RAHANTANIRINA and her household neighbors in general and fellow members in her association VONINAVOKO, all testify to the benefits of adopting new red rice varieties and the good agricultural practices and to the advantages of growing, the Chia seeds – Salvia hispanica. She uses the chia seeds for direct infusion of hot drinks or mixing them with yogurt and the chia leaves as edible vegetables accompanying rice. Moreover, "By diversifying my crops, I have not only improved the nutritional quality of the food I prepare for my family but also increased my income by selling the surplus produce", explained RAHANTANIRINA.
The experience of RAHANTANIRINA Jeanne Florence demonstrates the role of a woman in inducing change in household nutritional improvement. As a mother of seven children and wife, she participates in local development interventions for the well-being of the family. She continues to share and disseminate varieties and good agricultural practices in the neighborhood.
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