Cactus pastoralism on Madagascar: Ecology, politics, and events

This study of cactus pastoralism is based on ethnographic and historical materials from Madagascar. It is hypothesized that cactus pastoralism is a form of East African pastoralism, only based on the cultivation of prickly pear cactus (Opuntia sp.) fodder into living fencing around a number of pastoralist places. The evidence for prickly pear being an economic resource the herding life includes tending cacti hedging that has led to increased sedentarization and using cacti fruit as a mainstay in their diet that has replaced blood.;It is suggested that politics has contributed to the development of cactus pastoralism on Madagascar. A modified political ecology approach is used to inform the available information on this newly discovered form of pastoralism. Exploring the struggles over access to environmental resources indicates that this plant can be seen as a political instrument creating a barrier between primarily Malagasy and Europeans.;Three notable events and a number of cultural responses are considered. First, its expansion coincides with foreign colonialist efforts to penetrate local control of the region's resources. Second, French colonialists introduced a cactus parasite (cochineal) that destroyed the main thorned cactus species after World War I. Third, it was subsequently revived after new cacti species were introduced to the island.