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Madagascar's poverty is partly linked to inadequate livestock nutrition and inefficient use of grassland, which covers more than half of the country's surface. Prioritising zebu nutrition and efficient use of native forage species can lead to substantial improvements. This project involves 90 households and is working to improve zebu breeding around three protected forests in Madagascar: Ankafobe, Ibity and Itremo. The initiative focuses on pasture productivity, forage grass management and livestock nutrition. It includes demonstration farms, experimental pastures and forest plots with a fire management plan. Monitoring focuses on cow performance, forage production, grazing capacity and biomass productivity. Across the project sites, nitrogen deficiency and low phosphorus and potassium levels are common. The successful silage production (1881 kg/ha) resulted from combining Supergraze 1000 forage sorghum with legumes in Ibity. Households fed zebus with silage and hay for the first time. In Ibity, milk production tripled, while in Itremo and Ankafobe, beneficiaries focused on calf production, achieving annual calving rates of 63.4% and 58.0%, respectively. Initially, 123 grass species were inventoried around experimental pastures. After fire and grazing, grazing capacity decreased from 1.4 ha to 0.7 ha/zebu/year, and biomass production varies between 300 and 800 kg/ha. Madagascar remains famous for subsistence farming with long-term decline in livestock, but there are significant opportunities for integrated crop-livestock production and the sustainable use of grassland while preserving biodiversity.