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RMI in MADAGASCAR

Responsible Mica Initiative Mission iN madagascar

establish a FAIR, responsible and sustainable
mica supply chain that is free
of child labor

the Challenge

In Madagascar, mica is mined in Southern provinces of Anosy, Ihorombe and Androy, among the poorest in the island. The situation is very similar to the one in Bihar and Jharkhand: communities struggle with isolation, insecurity, illiteracy and extreme poverty. The lack of clarity of legal framework create an unstable environment for the sector. As in India, these underlying conditions have led to significant social and economic problems, including:

  • The use of child labor
  • Poor working conditions
  • Lack of access to education and healthcare
  • Dependence on mica mining as a source of income
  • Limited access to government social services

A region stretched by climate change, leading to a humanitarian and economic crisis

The south of Madagascar is touched by an unfortunate series of events, leading to various harmful consequences for mica artisanal and small scale mining communities.
  • Extensive drought (“kere” in Malagasy) led to poor yields and significant loss of agriculture-related revenues,
  • Communities are lacking financial resources due to low agricultural revenues and low price paid for the mica they collect and mine,
  • Mica collection is still not formalized and most of mica volumes are exported to China at relatively low prices that lead to uneven value distribution. The industry development is currently to its lowest potential, and the risk for human rights infringements is high.

RMI launched its activities in Madagascar based on its extensive experience in india

Starting in 2022 and based on its extensive experience in the Indian mica supply chain, the Responsible Mica Initiative launched its activities in Madagascar.

RMI representatives already met with key stakeholders in Madagascar during a multi-stakeholder event hold in February 2022 (here the minutes of the meeting – in French).

On the basis of this meeting, the following was highlighted:

  • The Responsible Mica Initiative could hold the role of unifying the voice of the mica supply chain actors in Madagascar in order to contribute to its betterment,
  • As the initiative has been advocating in India since its creation, RMI could contribute to the establishment of a clear legal framework, associated with a clear fiscal framework and a positive business environment,
  • RMI could contribute to the collective reflexion on the formalization of mica artisanal and small scale miners in Madagascar,
  • RMI could contribute and actively participate to the better coordination of all actors involved in the mica supply chain (local and global businesses, …) and with mica artisanal and small scale mining communities (NGOs, local representatives, …).

In the short term, the Responsible Mica Initiative will:

  • Ensure its full and due registration in Madagascar,
  • Build a local team to follow up with the implementation of its activities in Madagascar,
  • Define its short, medium and long term strategies, to be implemented from the end of 2022 onward,
  • Ensure the involvement of local mica industry actors and pilot test implementation of Responsible Workplace Standards
  • Facilitate cross-learnings with India and globally
  • Raise awareness around mica sourcing related issues and engage multi-stakeholder, especially downstream companies, for joint remediation actions

LAUNCHING PROJECTS

To support its new activities in Madagascar, as well as the global Consortium’s project, the Responsible Mica Initiative will shortly look for external expert support.

In particular, RMI will seek expertise to conduct the following exercise:

  • Mapping of mica supply chain and related stakeholders

  • Socio-political economy analysis

Keep an eye on this page, the corresponding Terms of Reference will be published soon!

Available Soon!