Plan directeur du secteur élevage de Madagascar (PDSEM)—Impacts environnementaux de 2 chaines de valeur: le cas du lait dans le triangle laitier et le porc dans le district d’imerintsiatosika

This study assesses the environmental impacts of two livestock value chains in Madagascar: the dairy value chain in the Dairy Triangle and the pig value chain in the municipality of Imerintsiatosika. Using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, it evaluates environmental impacts from input production to product consumption across six environmental indicators. The results show that livestock production systems account for more than 80% of the total environmental impacts in both value chains, making improvements in on-farm management the main opportunity for reducing environmental footprints.
In the dairy value chain, productive semi-intensive systems demonstrate the best environmental performance, while extensive systems are generally the least impactful in the pig value chain.
The study also finds that the environmental impacts of Madagascar’s livestock value chains are comparable to international benchmarks, suggesting that they do not generate higher impacts than similar systems elsewhere. The findings support sustainable intensification through improved feeding, animal health, breeding and manure management to increase productivity while minimizing environmental impacts. The study further recommends evaluating alternative livestock development scenarios and extending the assessment to other value chains, particularly the zebu cattle sector.