Page 16 - AA 2025 Year Book Summary

Comoros

Strengthening the Capacity of Rice Farmers – A Step

Towards Rice Self-Sufficiency and Food Security

In the Union of the Comoros, agriculture is the back-
bone of rural livelihoods—but food insecurity remains a
pressing challenge. Limited arable land, climate-related
stressors, degraded soils, and restricted access to mar-
kets and quality inputs have all contributed to low agri-
cultural productivity. As a result, chronic malnutrition,
particularly among children under five—remains alarm-
ingly high.
Rice, now the preferred staple food in Comoros, paints a
stark picture of this gap. While demand continues to rise,
the country produces only about 1,100 tons of rice annu-
ally, far from meeting its national consumption needs. To
fill the gap, Comoros relies on costly imports of 30,000 to
40,000 tons each year. Despite the island of Moheli’s fa- and yields.
vorable conditions for growing rice up to three times a Farmers received illustrated training materials, such as
year, irrigated rice is still cultivated on less than 100 hect- GAP charts, designed to serve as easy-to-follow guides
ares in the swampy area of Ndrondroni. for each step of the production cycle. The impact was
In response to this urgent need, AfricaRice, in partner- immediate and enthusiastic: 105 farmers, 68% of them
ship with INRAPE—the Comorian national agricultural women, as well as 10 INRAPE technicians and extension
research institute—launched the BRECOMA project to agents, attended the trainings—nearly double the ex-
strengthen the capacity of local rice farmers. The initia- pected turnout.
tive promotes Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) tailored
for lowland rice farming, with a clear goal: to increase Even before formal training began, farmers were al-
productivity and help Comoros take a decisive step to- ready adopting visible GAP elements observed during
ward rice self-sufficiency. the demonstrations. This early uptake of techniques like
line transplanting and improved varieties underscores
In 2024, GAP demonstration plots were set up in Ndron-
droni to showcase the practical benefits of adopting the the community’s motivation and the tangible promise of
full GAP package. These practices include improved crop transformation.
management techniques such as line transplanting, op- With growing interest and stronger technical capacity,
timal spacing, and the use of improved rice varieties. In rice farmers in Comoros are now better equipped to drive
early 2025, farmers’ field days were organized to provide the country closer to its vision of food sovereignty and nu-
hands-on training at the crop’s maturity stage—clearly tritional resilience—one season, one harvest, one trained
demonstrating the positive impact of GAP on rice quality farmer at a time.

14 Arab Agriculture 2025