Regenerative Agriculture

Reforestation campaign in Mahalevona
Reforestation campaign in Mahalevona / Photo: Davidson Andrianasolo

Regenerative Agriculture

  • Our Objective

    Restoring degraded farmlands near Masoala through agroforestry and community engagement, building long-term soil fertility, biodiversity, and sustainable livelihoods for local farming communities.

  • Figures

    The project was launched on January 1, 2026 and is currently in progress.

Summary

Near Madagascar's Masoala Peninsula, open lands are losing their natural biodiversity and soil fertility, putting local livelihoods under growing pressure. Farmers increasingly struggle with shrinking yields from shifting cultivation, and poor market access leaves much agricultural land idle and unproductive.

The project responds by working with farming communities to transform exhausted and fallow land into productive, sustainably managed plots. Through agroforestry, it restores degraded soils with diverse trees and crops, establishes demonstration sites to strengthen local practices, and engages youth volunteers in hands-on fieldwork—building practical skills while supporting local growers. The aim is a landscape where restored biodiversity, more stable incomes, and greater community well-being reinforce one another over time.

Project Connections

  • Part of the topic

    Nature Protection that benefits people

    Nature Protection that benefits people

  • Part of the solutionscape

    Building environmental justice in a remote global biodiversity hotspot

Timeline

  • 1,200 Trees: How Mahalevona's Community is restoring their land

    News June 8, 2026

    The commune of Mahalevona had a clear goal: plant over 1,200 trees along a stretch of road in their region, mobilize their community to take part, and put in place the partnerships and monitoring needed to make sure those trees survive. Here is how they made it happen. Across the open areas surrounding Masoala, natural biodiversity is under pressure. Decades of shifting agriculture have depleted the land, reducing yields, and leaving many fields idle. Meanwhile, limited access to markets makes it harder for farmers to build any kind of sustainable livelihood from the land that remains. It is in this context that the Wyss Academy for Nature's local implementing partner, FCI (Full Circle Initiative), is working to turn degraded land into productive, biodiverse agroforestry landscapes. The reforestation campaign in Mahalevona, carried out as part of Madagascar's national reforestation effort, is one of the most concrete expressions of that work to date, and it started with a decision made locally. Rather than standing alone, the campaign forms part of our wider effort in the Mahalevona Valley to restore degraded land, strengthen local stewardship, and link biodiversity protection with more secure livelihood options.Thecommune of Mahalevona took the first step, approaching FCI to request support and sponsorship for a reforestation campaign along a stretch of road connecting Mahalevona and Fizono. From there, FCI's project lead NoelsonRanomenjanahary  and his team mobilized the partners whose expertise and institutional reach would be essential  to the campaign a success. 

    The community of Mahalevona planting over 1,200 trees in Fizono, Madagascar

  • Growing differently: agroecology takes root in a Malagasy valley

    News June 1, 2026

    Shifting Cultivation in Mahalevona, Madagascar

Team

  • Noelson Ranomenjanahary
    Project Lead–noelson.ranomenjanahary@fullcircle-initiative.org

  • Francis Yvson Velona
    Project officer– francis.yvson@fullcircle-initiative.org

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