Litchis from Madagascar for the most part survived last week’s tropical storm Ana that swept across the north-east of the Indian Ocean island before making landfall, where it continued to cause massive flooding across central Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Madagascar had just finished harvesting its litchis, large quantities of which are shipped via South Africa, before Ana arrived.
However, orchards under cultivation for next year’s harvest are at risk of Cyclone Batsirai, which is currently making its way west across the Indian Ocean basin.
According to the South African Weather Service, Batsirai is expected to arrive on the eastern shores of Mauritius, before moving onwards towards Réunion and Madagascar.
Although it remains uncertain what path the storm will follow, Batsirai could pose a significant risk to agricultural activities across Madagascar if it follows the route Ana took.
The latter, although only classified as a tropical storm with milder wind speed compared to that of a cyclone, killed 80 people and left more than 100 000 homeless.
Should Batsirai proceed towards the Mozambican Channel, it could increase in intensity due to the shallower, warmer water.
Apart from Madagascar’s litchi harvest that was spared the ravages of Ana, mango farming in Mozambican provinces such as Inhambane also escaped mainly unscathed.
It is widely regarded by the local fruit export industry that small-scale producers across the region are building resilience against the odds of a frequently storm-hit environment.
