Page 17 - AA 2026

Comoros

Comoros has good land potential
for agriculture. Total agricultural Comoros builds resilient seed
land was estimated at 131 000 hect-
ares in 2022, representing 71.5% of systems to strengthen food security
the country’s surface area. Around
66 000 hectares of this is arable land,
which represents about 35% of the
total land area. While this is mod-
est compared to larger agricultural
economies, arable land in Comoros
is a valuable resource but large
parts are underutilised. Its soils, of
volcanic origin, are very rich and
the climate is very favourable to all
crops, allowing the development of
different terroirs with numerous crop
varieties. There is scope to intensify
productivity through terracing, ir-
rigation, mechanisation, increased The Food and Agriculture Organi- RAPE, DNSAE, CRDEs, and farmer
fertiliser use and further crop diver- zation of the United Nations (FAO), cooperatives, the project trained 467
sification. Given the sector’s high in partnership with the African De- farmers and capacitated over 150
employment share, contribution to velopment Bank, is supporting Co- technical and institutional staff.
GDP and strong export earnings, it moros in building a resilient national Key achievements include the pro-
presents an immediate and scalable seed system to reduce dependence duction of 15 000 kg of CIRAD 412
development opportunity, in partic- on imports and improve food secu- maize foundation seed and 600 000
ular for ensuring food security. rity. Through the SEPAREF project, sanitized cassava cuttings across 34
Comoros is laying the foundation for
Given this comparative advan- sustainable, climate-adapted agricul- hectares. National institutions are
tage and the stakes involved in ag- ture across its islands. now equipped to certify and control
riculture, better capitalisation (i.e. Tackling food insecurity through seed quality, demonstrating that local
in terms of funding and agricultural local seed production seed production is both technically
mechanisation based on its leading Comoros faces significant challeng- and economically viable.
crops) could drive the country to- es as a small island nation, includ- Scaling up for regional impact
wards self-sufficiency and inclusive ing climate variability and limited SEPAREF’s success has paved the
economic transformation. Unlocking access to quality planting material. way for replication across Mohéli, An-
agricultural potential is critical, es- These factors have historically under- jouan, and Grande Comore. The scal-
pecially in a country with weak in- mined agricultural productivity and ing pathway includes strengthening
clusive growth indicators. Comoros’s resilience. The SEPAREF project was producer cooperatives, expanding
Human Development Index (HDI) launched to address these issues by certified production plots, and estab-
was 0.59 points in 2022, placing it at developing a national seed system lishing value-added processing units
for regional markets. By 2025, large-
a lowly 152nd out of 193 countries that ensures the availability of locally scale seed certification and digital
adapted, high-quality seeds.
globally. The country continues to monitoring platforms will be opera-
SEPAREF: A structured, inclusive
face poverty challenges, with a rate approach tional, enabling broader agricultural
of around 38.4% estimated for 2023, transformation.
although there has been a slight de- Implemented from 2022 to 2025, SE- This initiative was presented at the
crease compared to 2022. The coun- PAREF focused on three strategic pil- 19th FAO Subregional Multidisci-
lars: multiplying certified local seeds,
try’s GDP per capita (in purchasing deploying a digital early-warning plinary Team (MDT) Meeting, show-
power parity, PPP) reached US$3 500 platform for agricultural risks, and casing Comoros’ commitment to
in 2023, still relatively low compared strengthening institutional and com- building resilient agrifood systems
with US$6 103 for other lower-mid- munity capacities. In collaboration and sharing scalable solutions with
dle-income African countries. with national partners such as IN- other island and coastal nations.
Arab Agriculture 2026 15