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Since 2018, the Insuco-Cirad-Tamatave Horticultural Technical Centre (CTHT) consortium implements the CASEF (Croissance Agricole et Sécurisation Foncière) project, funded by the World Bank, under the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Madagascar. The main objective of this project is to facilitate agricultural households’ access to the market for export value chain: on the east coast of the island, we have thus been investing in the development of the cinnamon value chain for two years now.

Insuco initially provided support to small producers organized in POs (Producer Organizations) or in cooperatives and, since 2020, has also been supporting agricultural entrepreneurs who owned land and are interested in investing in cinnamon trees plantations. The project intervenes mainly at two levels: technical support for the production of seedlings in nurseries and the installation of new cinnamon plantations in order to progressively increase the production capacity, as well as the promotion of appropriate post-harvest techniques to improve the quality of the products put on the market.

Insuco is innovating by encouraging farmers and entrepreneurs to set up high-density plantations to encourage the production of cinnamon pipe, which is more profitable for producers, and, together with the CTHT, is promoting various tools and small equipment that facilitate the bark extraction and improve drying conditions. Furthermore, the project also intends to develop small cinnamon preparation units at the cooperative or private entrepreneur level to guarantee the microbiological quality of the products (respect of hygiene rules), as well as the quality of drying and storage before marketing.

Among the results obtained, we can highlight, for example:

• In 2020, 345,000 cinnamon plants have been set up by approximately 400 farmers;
• In 2021, more than 530,000 plants will be produced in tree nurseries;
• More and more farmers are becoming aware of the advantages of this specific value chain.