Development and associated research issues

Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum L.), which are native to the Maluku Islands (Indonesia), were introduced to Madagascar in the 1800s, in Sainte Marie Island (Maistre, 1955, Volper, 2011). From 1885, clove cultivation spread to Grande Terre. Clove is used for both its fruit and its essential oil. This species is an extremely aromatic plant with a high content of essential oil, both in the bud and in the stem and leaf. Clove essential oils have antimicrobial, antifungal, and antioxidant activity. Eugenol, the major component of clove oil, is a product of high technological value sought by various industries (Lampmann et al, 1977, Kamatou et al, 2012). 

Madagascar is the world's largest exporter, exporting an annual average of 20 000 tons of cloves and 2000 tons of essential oils. Clove is Madagascar's leading agricultural export (Gouzien et al, 2016). 

The clove industry, and in particular the essential oil component, is an important source of income for Madagascar, especially for the rural populations of the East Coast. It is also unfortunately one of the first causes of deforestation and loss of biodiversity. Actions to improve the sustainability of this sector therefore appear to be a priority.

Objectives

The intended actions are aimed at ensuring the sustainable development of the clove and essential oils sector, leading to positive social and economic impacts while reducing the environmental impact.

Research questions

This proposal for action is built on knowledge acquired by several years of work carried out by dP F&B researchers and students. However, new occasional research will be necessary to complete a few specific points. These actions aim to:

1. Specify the as-yet unknown biophysical, agronomic, technical, economic, and social conditions of sustainability: identify and characterize the various stakeholders in the sector, assess the sustainability of clove-based cropping systems, their economic and social performance, understand and share the knowledge and know-how of farmers.
2. Raise stakeholders' awareness of the issues of sustainability by participatory approaches, awareness-raising campaigns, training, and consultation. This step is a prerequisite for the emergence of a dynamic of change within the sector.
3. Define action objectives through the establishment of innovation platforms: multi-stakeholder consultation including local populations, economic operators, the administration (state, municipality), research, and development structures, with the aim of jointly identifying problems and defining credible and relevant technical and organizational solutions.
4. Implement these technical and organizational solutions, which likely include:
5. improvement of cropping systems, specialization of clove plantations and their management (clove/essence), technical improvement of stills, greater involvement and responsibility of still owners in the operation of the sector, recovery of distillery waste (organic matter or biomass energy), establishment of wood energy plantations, labeling of the sector valuing its environmental and social performance.
6. Include stakeholders in a suitable management drive by defining in collaboration with innovation platforms a system to monitor and evaluate (ex-ante, in-itinere) the environmental, economic, and social impacts.
7. Consider the conditions of scaling in order to ensure widespread dissemination of innovations.

These proposals for action could support methodological reflection designed to develop appropriate tools to assess environmental, economic, and social impacts, such as life-cycle assessments, on different scales.