France, Sept. 27 -- In Enduma's vast warehouse on the outskirts of Antananarivo, the looms are running at full capacity. The company's six-shuttle circular weaving machines operate round the clock, amidst a deafening din.

In just a few minutes, they transform tiny plastic pellets into bags that have become a familiar sight throughout the country.

"Our classic bag is the Miaka-bokatra," explains one employee. "Literally, 'harvest season'. It's the bag you see almost everywhere in Madagascar - it marks the start of the rice harvest season, the paddies, and has come to symbolise Madagascar."

In flood-prone Malawi, bananas become a shield against erosion Working to the rhythm of harvests

Bearing a picture of a cart drawn by two zebu cattl...