|
Madagascar Traditional Agriculture
Traditional farming methods vary from one ethnic group
or
location to another, according to population density,
climate,
water supply, and soil. The most intensive form of
cultivation is
practiced among the Betsileo and Merina groups of the
central
highlands, where population densities are the highest. At
the
other extreme are the extensive slash-and-burn methods of
brush
clearing and shifting cultivation in the south and the
east.
The Betsileo are probably the most efficient
traditional rice
farmers. They construct rice paddies on narrow terraces
ascending
the sides of steep valleys in the southern portion of the
central
highlands, creating an intricate landscape reminiscent of
Indonesia or the Philippines. The irrigation systems use
all
available water, which flows through narrow canals for
considerable distances. Some of the rice paddies cover no
more
than a few square meters. Only those surfaces that cannot
be
irrigated are planted in dryland crops.
In parts of the central highlands two rice crops a year
can
be grown, but not on the same plot. The Betsileo use a
variety of
local species that can be sown at different times,
employing
irrigation to grow some varieties in the dry season and
waiting
for the rainy season to plant others. The fields
surrounding the
typical Betsileo village often represent a checkerboard of
tiny
plots in different stages of the crop cycle.
The cultivation cycle begins with the repair of
irrigation
and drainage canals and plowing, which is performed with a
longhandled spade or hoe. Manure or fertilizer is then spread
over
the field. If the supply of manure or artificial
fertilizer is
limited, only the seedbeds are fertilized. After
fertilizing,
family and neighbors join in a festive trampling of the
fields,
using cattle if available. Occasionally, trampling takes
the
place of plowing altogether. If the rice is to be sown
broadcast,
it may be done on the same day as trampling. In the more
advanced
areas, the seedlings are raised in protected seedbeds and
transplanted later.
Rice-farming techniques among the Merina resemble those
of
the Betsileo but are usually less advanced and intensive.
The
Merina territory includes some areas where land is more
plentiful, and broader areas permit less laborious means
of
irrigation and terracing. Although rice is still the
dominant
crop, more dryland species are grown than in the Betsileo
region,
and greater use is made of the hillsides and grasslands.
In the forested areas of the eastern coast, the
Betsimisaraka
and Tanala peoples also practice irrigated rice culture
where
possible. The dominant form of land use, however, is
shifting
cultivation by the slash-and-burn method, known as
tavy.
The smaller trees and brush are cut down and left to dry,
then
burned just before the rainy season. The cleared area is
usually
planted with mountain rice and corn. After two or three
years of
cultivation, the fields are usually left fallow and are
gradually
covered by secondary vegetation known as savoka.
After ten
or twenty years, the area may be cultivated again.
Because the slash-and-burn method destroys the forest
and
other vegetation cover, and promotes erosion, it has been
declared illegal. Government assistance is offered to
those
cultivators who prepare rice paddies instead, and those
practicing tavy are fined or, in extreme cases,
imprisoned. Despite the penalties, and much to the chagrin
of
forestry agents, tavy continues to be practiced.
Even
those who cultivate wet paddies often practice tavy
on the
side. The crop cycle for tavy is shorter than for
irrigated rice, and generations of experience have taught
that it
is one of the only forms of insurance against the droughts
that
occur about every three years. Moreover, the precipitous
slopes
and heavy, irregular rains make it difficult to maintain
affordable and controllable irrigation systems.
A similar system of shifting cultivation is practiced
in the
arid, sparsely populated regions of the extreme south and
southwest. The dry brush or grassland is burned off, and
droughtresistant sorghum or corn is sown in the ashes. In the
Antandroy
and some Mahafaly areas, however, the main staples of
subsistence--cassava, corn, beans, and sorghum--are also
grown
around the villages in permanent fields enclosed by
hedges.
Dry-season cultivation in empty streambeds is practiced
largely on the western coast and in the southwest and is
called
baiboho. The crops are sown after the last rising
of the
waters during the rainy seasons, and after the harvest
fresh
alluvial deposits naturally replenish the soil. Lima beans
(known
as Cape peas) are raised by this system on the Mangoky
River
system delta, along with tobacco and a number of newer
crops.
The traditional livestock-raising peoples are the Bara,
Sakalava, and other groups of the south and the west,
where
almost every family owns some zebu cattle. The common
practice is
to allow the animals to graze almost at will, and the
farmers
take few precautions against the popular custom of cattle
stealing. These farmers are also accustomed to burning off
the
dry grass to promote the growth of new vegetation for
animal
feed. The cattle generally are slaughtered only for
ceremonial
occasions, but these are so frequent that the per capita
meat
consumption among the cattle herders is very high.
Fishing is popular as a sideline by farmers who
supplement
their farm produce with fish from freshwater rivers,
lakes, and
ponds. Perhaps two-thirds of the total yearly catch is
consumed
for subsistence; transportation costs to the capital make
the
price of marketed fish prohibitively expensive to other
domestic
consumers. The introduction of tilapia fish from the
African
mainland in the 1950s increased inland aquaculture. Many
families, particularly in the central highlands, have
established
fish ponds to raise carp, black bass, or trout. The
breeding of
fish in rice fields, however, requires sophisticated water
control and a strong guard against dynamiting, poisoning,
and
poaching, which remain chronic problems.
Data as of August 1994
|
