Concerns are mounting that Madagascar could soon gain the tragic distinction of becoming the world’s first climate-induced famine.

The country remains in the grips of a four-year drought that is centered on the southern part of the island. Prolonged lack of water, along with creeping aridification and sandstorms, have left farmers unable to plant their crops for three years running. Periodic locust swarms – a reoccurring blight since the early 2010s – have further compounded the misery.