Agroecological approaches were applied in highlands of Madagascar in developing improved practices with the aim to enhance ecological processes to increase food production. To achieve this goal, researchers in Madagascar have worked closely with farmers to innovate and develop farming practices by improving locally adapted crop cultivars, increasing nutrient capture and recycling, and facilitating positive plant-plant interactions with cultivar mixtures. These efforts have successfully improved the lives of farmers even as they strengthen the agroecosystems that sustains them.