ANTANARIVO, Madagascar (February 25, 2026) – Farmers participating in a sustainable agriculture program in Madagascar saw significantly increased crop outputs, alongside lower deforestation rates and higher incomes, according to a new impact evaluation released by Conservation International and developed in partnership with the Independent Evaluation Unit of the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
The Sustainable Landscapes in Eastern Madagascar (SLEM) project, and the resulting impact evaluation report examined how farmer’s integration of sustainable agriculture techniques helped improve their livelihoods and the environmental health of the island.
The techniques used among SLEM participants – 24,862 smallholder farming households in and around the Ankeniheny-Zahamena Forest Corridor and the Ambositra-Vondrozo Forest Corridor – included climate-smart agriculture trainings, distribution of seeds and equipment, forest patrolling, agroforestry promotion and forest restoration.
By the project’s end, SLEM participants had higher outputs of climate-smart crops – like groundnuts and Bamara peas – and earned higher crop-based incomes in comparison to a control group of farmers. This increase in livelihood stability for farmers likely eased pressure on forests, coinciding with a decline in deforestation. In SLEM project areas, the deforestation rates declined from 3.2% at baseline in 2018 to 0.8% at endline in 2023. Increased forest cover in Madagascar can be a critical natural climate solution as the island grapples with a warming world.
Madagascar is particularly vulnerable to climate threats due to its location, susceptibility to climate impacts and the limited capacity for people to adapt. In the years since this project began, the United Nations has warned that Madagascar could be the site of the planet’s first climate change-caused famine.
“The Ankeniheny-Zahamena and Ambositra-Vondrozo forest corridors make up the remaining large humid forested areas in Eastern Madagascar, but poverty and food insecurity have driven deforestation as many smallholder farmers resort to clearing forests in search of new land and better soil to cultivate,” said Daniela Raik, Executive Vice President and Chief Conservation Officer at Conservation International.
“These factors make switching to sustainable agriculture practices all the more important, and here we see that agricultural abundance and forest protection don’t need to be at odds with each other.”
According to the findings, farmers participating in the SLEM project have seen downstream effects of their increased crop production – in addition to the increased income – including:
- 30% increase in food consumed from their own production, suggesting a possible connection to increased food security
- Significantly more production of commercially viable crops like groundnuts and Bambara peas (565% and 196% higher production than baseline, respectively)
- Greater crop diversity being grown (13% more kinds of crops than non-SLEM farms), a factor that could lead to increased climate resilience over time
- Lower participation in environmentally harmful activities that are often undertaken to supplement farming-driven livelihoods (e.g., charcoal production, mining, tree curing)
Today’s endline impact report tracks the long-term outcomes of the seven-year SLEM project, from 2018 to 2025, drawing on the results from over 1,600 smallholder farmers who researchers interviewed for this assessment. The analysis compares farms that participated in project activities with similar farms from non-project areas, before and after the project activities, allowing researchers to track the SLEM program’s direct impact.
“These results show that projects promoting climate-resilient farming practices help to both preserve critical forests and improve income of rural farmers,” said Giacomo Fedele, Director of Climate Change Adaptation Strategy at Conservation International.
“These science-based lessons demonstrate that nature-based strategies provide tangible benefits to local farmers that are urgently needed, which has helped build trust in sustainable agriculture’s ability to sustain them.”
Andreas Reumann, Head of the GCF’s Independent Evaluation Unit said: “The findings inform in a credible way the sustained impact of the project. They also help us better understand the drivers of successful implementation. By strengthening the evidence base, the findings help ensure that climate finance is used more efficiently, informing the design and delivery of future sustainable landscapes investments for greater impact at scale.”
Improvements in longer term outcomes for human well-being – such as continued adoption of sustainable agricultural practices, stronger food security, and greater climate resilience – showed promise but are not yet statistically significant. These early trends underscore the importance of continued support for farmers’ groups to strengthen the local enabling environment.
“In Madagascar, we are seeing how climate-smart agriculture delivers real results for people and nature. When farmers have the tools to produce more, they are better equipped to adapt to climate change while reducing pressure on forests. By investing in approaches that increase food security, boost incomes, and protect forests at the same time, the Green Climate Fund is empowering communities to adapt to climate change while delivering lasting environmental and development benefits,” said Catherine Koffman, GCF’s Director of the Africa Region.
