Proposals to increase crop production in the Comoro Islands through better soil fertility management on smallholdings. The experience of the rural development projects led by French cooperation services. Case of Grande Comore

Agricultural research has identified bare soil fertility as one of the major factors to be improved in order to increase food crop yields. The case of Grande-Comore has been studied in detail, analysing the modifications to traditional farming systems proposed following a research-development project and research-action projects funded by French cooperation services. It is clear that for root and tuber staple crops, implementing the proposals for improving soil fertility by adding fresh organic matter (alley cropping and improved fallows) has a positive effect on yields. Using mineral fertilizers also leads to substantially increased yields. However, the agricultural and socio-economic environment prevents the large-scale adoption of these techniques. The existing farms are still relatively large, and the extensive strategies adopted in order to claim ownership of the land by cultivating it, the inadequate use of combined cropping/animal production systems due to the very rustic local animal species, and poorly organized marketing of local products are all hindrances to the adoption of these labour-intensive techniques. Moreover, for economic reasons, the most innovative farmers are increasingly turning to market garden crops, as they are more labour-efficient.