In Madagascar, people are forced to consume insects.

According to the United Nations, Madagascar is on the verge of witnessing the world’s first “climate change famine,” with tens of thousands of people already suffering “catastrophic” levels of hunger and food insecurity following four years without rain.

The country’s worst drought in four decades has wreaked havoc on isolated rural towns in the south, forcing families to hunt for insects to survive.

“These are famine-like situations, and they are caused by climate change, not conflict,” said Shelley Thakral of the UN World Food Programme.

According to the UN, 30,000 people are presently suffering from the greatest level of food insecurity – level five – and there are fears that the number of people affected could climb rapidly as Madagascar approaches its annual “thin season” before harvest.

“This is unheard of. These individuals have made no contribution to climate change. They do not rely on fossil fuels… Despite this, they are facing the brunt of climate change,” Ms Thakral explained.

Families in the isolated village of Fandiova, in the Amboasary district, recently demonstrated the locusts they were consuming to a visiting WFP team.

To survive in the absence of food, people consume locusts.
Crops have failed, leaving families to rely on insects and cactus leaves for sustenance. “I clean the insects as best I can, but there’s almost no water,” Tamaria, a mother of four, said.

“My children and I have been eating this every day for the past eight months because we haven’t had anything else to eat and there hasn’t been any rain to allow us to reap what we’ve sown,” she continued.

Bole, a mother of three, sat on the parched earth and stated, “Today we have absolutely nothing to eat except cactus leaves.”

She claimed that her husband and a neighbor had lately died of hunger, leaving her with two more children to feed.

“I don’t know what to say. Our entire existence consists of searching for cactus leaves over and over in order to survive.”

Water management should be improved.
Despite the fact that Madagascar is prone to droughts and is frequently hit by El Nio-related weather patterns, researchers believe climate change is to blame for the current situation.

“According to the most recent IPCC report, Madagascar has experienced an increase in aridity. And if climate change continues, this number is anticipated to rise.

Dr. Rondro Barimalala, a Madagascan scientist at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, said, “In many ways, this may be considered as a very persuasive argument for people to change their habits.”

Chris Funk, head of the Climate Hazards Center at Santa Barbara University in California, verified the relationship with “warming in the atmosphere” and said the Madagascan government needed to concentrate on improving water management.

“We believe there is a lot that can be done in the short term,” says the group. We can usually predict when there will be more rain than usual, and farmers can use that information to boost crop production. In the face of climate change, we are not powerless,” he stressed.

In Grand Sud of Betsimeda, Maroalomainty commune, Ambovombe District, Madagascar, children attempt to cultivate a plantation with cattle. 2nd of May, 2021
Droughts in the south of the country have dried off the soil.
The effects of the present drought are already being felt in major cities in southern Madagascar, with many youngsters forced to beg for food on the streets.

“Market prices are increasing by three or four times. People are selling their land to make money to buy food,” said Tisna Endor, who works for the Tolanaro-based organization Seed.

Lomba Hasoavana, a colleague, said he and others had taken to sleeping in their cassava fields to safeguard their crops from hungry people, but that this had become too risky.

“You could put your life in jeopardy. I find it quite difficult since I have to consider about feeding myself and my family every day,” he said, adding, “Everything about the weather is so uncertain now.” What will happen tomorrow?” is a large question mark.