Supporting Comorian high-value-added industries (vanilla, ylang-ylang, vanilla) and horticulture

The AFIDEV project, financed by the Agence française de développement (AFD) as part of the France-Comoros Development Plan (PDFC), aims to improve the competitiveness, organisation and diversification of high-value agricultural export sectors (vanilla, ylang-ylang, cloves).

The project aims to increase the volume and quality of production, while improving incomes and access to employment.

CIRAD's scientific and technical support on various issues

In the course of the project, CIRAD will contribute its scientific and technical expertise to provide knowledge and recommendations based on diagnostics for the following project components

•     Processing and packaging support.

•     Research on high value-added and horticultural production.

•     Support for agricultural production with a focus on cash crops.

CIRAD is mobilising its experts in the following technical areas

• Identification of health risks and proposal of control and pest management solutions (biological or integrated).

♦ Vanilla,

•     An initial phytosanitary diagnosis (inventory of bioaggressors and bioecology) will be carried out.

•     A plan is proposed for the production of healthy cuttings at INRAPE and in collaboration with the CRDEs (Centres ruraux de développement économique), based on an assessment of expectations and capacities for the production of healthy seedlings to be made available to farmers.

•     The multiplication of healthy material by INRAPE is planned in greenhouses, with the production of sanitised vanilla vines, the quality of which will be tested.

•     Depending on the diagnosis (presence or absence of the mealybug), biological control methods (parasitoid research) will be considered and tested in experiments.

A first field mission was carried out by Michel Grisoni (vanilla expert, Cirad) in September 2023.

♦ This work is also carried out on the most common vegetable crops (cabbage, tomatoes, etc.):

•     A phytosanitary inventory of the pests observed.

•     Identification of existing biological control techniques.

•     To set up trials to extend these techniques in the Comoros (biological control; physical techniques).

Two field missions were carried out by Philippe Ryckewaert (entomologist, Cirad) in Anjouan (September 2023) and Grande Comore (November 2023).

Improving technical-economic production routes and product quality

♦ For the clove tree, several dimensions will be addressed:

• An improved quality of cloves along the sector, in particular the identification by survey of farmers of the three islands of "varieties", ecotypes or "plus" trees,the evaluation of the relevance of these empirical selections (genetic diversity, chemotypes) and an analysis of the control of the conditions for picking, drying and sorting cloves, based on current practices and innovations identified in previous work.

• An analysis by comparison of the different existing economic models of cooperatives (independent farmers, “UNDP” cooperatives, COPREM after three years of operation…

♦ For market gardening, a diagnosis of the market gardening systems of the three islands will be carried out in order to analyze the needs, prioritize them in terms of responses to be provided and identify the partners to be involved.

The establishment of conditions for the valorization of products on the basis of their origin and quality

The Union of Comoros signed the revised Bangui agreements of 2015 and benefits from the regulatory framework of OAPI (African Intellectual Property Organization) to register Geographical Indications (GI). Supporting and strengthening the skills of technical executives of Comorian institutions and organizations and producers in the implementation of these potential GIs is an important step. There is indeed a significant demand from professionals and their organizations to set up a guarantee system to maintain product quality. It concerns ylang-ylang and vanilla. This request is confirmed by representatives of OCPI (Comorian Office of Intellectual Production), which is the national liaison structure of OAPI in the Comoros.

The two objectives of this activity are:

• Strengthening the capacities of national structures for the instruction of GIs in the Union of the Comoros and for registration with OAPI.

• Supporting the ylang-ylang and vanilla sectors in the product recognition process for the development of specifications and control plans and the definition of communication plans.

Thus, a feasibility study for the registration of GIs assessing the strengths and weaknesses for their implementation on the products concerned by AFIDEV is envisaged before initiating the collective work of developing the application file for registration of products under GI. with OAPI. Integrating organic certification and evaluating alternative certification methods adapted to producers' conditions are also considered. These expanded terms will potentially include cloves. On the various subjects mentioned above and in parallel, our experts will be required to develop training materials and modules which will allow those involved in the agricultural profession to have access to quality, reliable knowledge, accessible to all. In addition, CIRAD will support INRAPE (National Institute for Research in Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment) in its skills development project, particularly in plant health.

Stay tuned !

This study is financed by the French Development Agency (AFD) under project management by Expertise France (EF).