Yearly slash-and-burn farming threatens Madagascar's forests Every year in Madagascar, farmers burn and clear the land for the next crops, sometimes even in protected areas where the practice is illegal. 93,266 hectares of forests have gone up in smoke since the beginning of the year, according to the Ministry of the Environment. According to NGOs, these figures are over two times higher. In recent years, deforestation has worsened in the west of the country as the demand from food companies for maize and groundnuts has increased. Thousands of climate migrants are also fleeing a drought in the south of the country and clearing protected areas to cultivate crops. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES