From seedlings to climate resilience
How scaling up community tree-seedling nurseries is driving climate action through forest restoration in Madagascar.
A community nursery developed with the Sofia Region Farmers’ Union (Photo: FAO)
Forest and farm producers in the Sofia region of Madagascar are experiencing climate change through declining water levels in wells, the drying up of springs, alternating droughts and floods, and shifts in cropping calendars.
Driven by the need to improve water retention, stabilise soils and create microclimates that reduce the impact of droughts and floods, members of the Sofia Region Farmers’ Union (Fivondronan’ny Tantsaha ao amin’ny Faritra Sofia, FFTS) had started carrying out individual reforestation in agroforestry systems on cultivated fields, as well as reforestation on hillsides.
However, these efforts remained limited due to the lack of seedling supply, as well as insufficient inputs, equipment or technical capacities to establish community nurseries.
Forest and Farm Facility activities
FFTS is a member of the national Farmers Development Association (Fikambanana Fampivoarana Ny Tantsaha, FIFATA). Through FFF support to this tiered membership organisation, 47 grassroots associations representing 880 farmer members of FFTS have benefited from the establishment of 65 village nurseries, enabling the reforestation of 1,636 hectares across the areas managed by its members.
FFF supported FIFATA in strengthening capacities at multiple levels:
- Improving governance through general assemblies
- Training nursery operators through classroom sessions and exchanges with other producers
- Establishing community nurseries with equipment and inputs tailored to group needs
- Strengthening reforestation and plot monitoring, and
- Mobilising forest and farm producer organisation (FFPO) technicians to support farmers.
Significance of impact
These community nurseries now serve as local seedling supply services at the village level. Members can access forest seedlings (such as acacia, gmelina and eucalyptus) free of charge, as well as fruit seedlings, including lemon, mango, orange, soursop and coffee, at a symbolic price of US$0.10-0.20.
FIFATA further strengthened this effort by developing partnerships with other actors, including the decentralised Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, the nongovernmental organisation Graine de Vie (Seed of Life), and partners supporting capacity building and seedling supply.
Building on the success of this initial FFF-supported pilot, FIFATA has now scaled up the model. Nursery training and the establishment of community nurseries have expanded to all regions in which FIFATA operates, with adaptations to local contexts.
From 18 community nurseries recorded in 2020, there are now 283 across all FIFATA regions, including 78 in the Sofia region.
Conclusion
The forest landscape restoration activities enabled by these nurseries contribute directly to mitigating climate change impacts while improving livelihoods. They have also reduced the time women and rural young people spend collecting firewood.
FIFATA promotes the participation of all groups, particularly women and young people, although access to land remains a constraint for some youth.
Overall, these efforts demonstrate how strengthened capacity and local resource systems can support climate resilience and sustainable land management.
Further reading
Insight: Growing restoration: from backyard gardens to agroforestry landscapes, Duncan Macqueen (2025)