IRIN
MADAGASCAR: Vanilla coast devastated
19 March 2007


JOHANNESBURG, 19 March 2007 (IRIN) - Madagascar's vanilla coast in the 
northeast has been devastated by Cyclone Indlala, the sixth storm to hit 
the Indian Ocean island this season.

"The region is still recovering from the impact of the devastating 
cyclones [Elita and Gafilo], which hit Madagascar three years ago; this 
year the farmers were hoping for a good harvest," said Stefanie von 
Westarp, spokeswoman for the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) 
in Madagascar. Vanilla orchids take three years to flower, so the 2006 
harvest was small.

According to government estimates, about 80 percent of the country's 
vanilla production, Madagascar's top foreign exchange earner, has been 
lost to Indlala, which hit the coast on Thursday. WFP and the UN's Food 
and Agriculture Organisation said a clearer picture would emerge after 
an assessment in the next few days.

"People's only source of livelihood has been affected," said von 
Westarp, adding that strong winds in Antalaha, the main centre on the 
vanilla-producing coast, had done the most damage. The devastation of 
vanilla plantations, one of the most labour-intensive crops in the 
world, would have an impact on the livelihoods of entire communities.

The adjoining Maroanstetra district, about 150km southwest of Antalaha, 
has an estimated population 180,000 and was almost entirely flooded, 
said von Westarp.

Northern Madagascar, which produces a substantial quantity of rice, the 
country's staple food, has also been affected. The island's 17 million 
people consume almost 2.5 million mt of rice annually. Von Westarp said 
at least 195,000 people were in need of food aid before Indlala hit 
land.

Gianluca Ferrera, deputy director of WFP, said the food agency was 
trying to transport 135,000mt of food to the coastal town of 
Maroanstetra in the next 48 hours to 72 hours by boat. The French 
government had already dispatched a naval vessel and aircraft to the 
affected areas to deliver non-food items to assist people in need.

Tropical storms like Indlala have been compounding the pressure on 
already precarious food security, especially in the country's arid 
southern region, where a drought has affected 582,000 people. The 
government appealed for $242 million in international aid in February.

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