Strengthening the Capacity of Rice Farmers – A Step Towards Rice Self-Sufficiency and Food Security in Comoros

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In the Union of the Comoros, agriculture is the backbone of rural livelihoods—but food insecurity remains a pressing challenge. Limited arable land, climate-related stressors, degraded soils, and restricted access to markets and quality inputs have all contributed to low agricultural productivity. As a result, chronic malnutrition, particularly among children under five—remains alarmingly 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 annually, 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 favorable conditions for growing rice up to three times a year, irrigated rice is still cultivated on less than 100 hectares in the swampy area of Ndrondroni.

In response to this urgent need, AfricaRice, in partnership with INRAPE—the Comorian national agricultural research institute—launched the BRECOMA project to strengthen the capacity of local rice farmers. The initiative promotes Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) tailored for lowland rice farming, with a clear goal: to increase productivity and help Comoros take a decisive step toward rice self-sufficiency.

In 2024, GAP demonstration plots were set up in Ndrondroni to showcase the practical benefits of adopting the full GAP package. These practices include improved crop management techniques such as line transplanting, optimal spacing, and the use of improved rice varieties. In early 2025, farmers’ field days were organized to provide hands-on training at the crop’s maturity stage—clearly demonstrating the positive impact of GAP on rice quality and yields.

Farmers received illustrated training materials, such as GAP charts, designed to serve as easy-to-follow guides for each step of the production cycle. The impact was immediate and enthusiastic: 105 farmers, 68% of them women, as well as 10 INRAPE technicians and extension agents, attended the trainings—nearly double the expected turnout.

Even before formal training began, farmers were already adopting visible GAP elements observed during the demonstrations. This early uptake of techniques like line transplanting and improved varieties underscores the community’s motivation and the tangible promise of transformation.

With growing interest and stronger technical capacity, rice farmers in Comoros are now better equipped to drive the country closer to its vision of food sovereignty and nutritional resilience—one season, one harvest, one trained farmer at a time.

About the BRECOMA Project

The “Building Resilience to Enhance Food, Incomes and Nutrition Security in the Comoros and Madagascar (BRECOMA)” is a joint initiative of the “Sécurité Alimentaire et Nutritionnelle de l’Océan Indien (SANOI) program” funded by the European Union and Indian Ocean Commission. The overall objective is to improve food and nutritional security through the promotion of improved varieties of nutritious crops and improved and diversified agro-ecological farming and post-harvest practices in the Indian Ocean countries including Madagascar and Comoros.

Launched in 2022, the EU-funded project aimed to bring relief to the value chains of rice, cassava, maize and other highly nutritious foods such as vegetables and chia seeds, which undoubtedly have huge potential to address food insecurity, but face numerous challenges, ranging from technical capacity development to the absence of improved seed varieties.

The project aims to address the priorities of these sectors, including strengthening the capacity of farmers, private seed enterprises, and government ministries and agencies. Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) were collaborating on the project with the Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, la Pêche et l’Environnement (INRAPE) in Comoros.

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