In northeast Madagascar, vanilla isn’t just for ice cream — it’s how many families make a living. But vanilla prices bounce up and down like a yo-yo. So, what do farmers do when prices crash?

A new study finds they get creative, planting other crops like cassava and peanuts to keep food on the table and money coming in.

This kind of diversification helps keep forest areas intact.

Payments for conservation tell a different story. While farmers are encouraged to leave more land forested, they also reduce crop variety, and, in some cases, push younger farmers to expand into shared lands, creating new challenges.

Ultimately the results show that supporting both farming and forests isn’t one size fits all. Consideration must be given to farmers’ ages, land access and the rhythms of the vanilla market.

More like this: A greener education