Chinese investment can help Comoros achieve food security amid climate crisis: president

The archipelago nation of Comoros needs improve its self-sufficiency as it bears the brunt of the climate crisis, according to its president Azali Assoumani. 

Comoros, a string of islands in the Indian Ocean, faces significant climatic adversities, which regularly disrupt agricultural activities, exacerbating the risk of food shortages and heightening the country's dependence on imported goods. Currently, over 60 percent of the nation's food supply is sourced externally, a vulnerability that Assoumani said he wanted to address through enhanced domestic agricultural productivity with the help of overseas investment.

"We experience floods, cyclones, rising waters, droughts. These are times when people can't work. So, in terms of food, we must have something to store," Assoumani said at the Crans Montana Forum in Brussels. "The population needs the minimum to live in order not to be exposed to famine, to shortages," he added, saying his government was encouraging foreign partners including China to come to the country and invest in the sector.

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The president's focus on achieving food self-sufficiency reflects a broader strategy to mitigate the impacts of climate change and ensure the self-resilience of the Comorian population. His administration, he said, was actively pursuing the development of local agriculture, exploring ways to cultivate food that can sustain the population during periods of environmental instability.

A significant part of this strategy, he said, involved international collaboration, particularly with China. "Recently, I received a mission that came from China in the context of aquaculture: how can we effectively invest in aquaculture so that the food cultivation necessary to feed the population can be developed," said the president. 

But he stressed that China's engagement with Comoros extended far beyond food. The partnership, described by Assoumani as "exemplary," encompassed a broad spectrum of support, including political, economic, and social dimensions.

"China is a bilateral partner and one of the first partners to invest in the country," Assoumani said, championing China's contributions which have included the construction of critical infrastructure like schools and hospitals.

The Comoran leader expressed a desire to deepen this relationship further, particularly by attracting Chinese investments in other sectors too, such as industrialization and healthcare. "We're talking with China… we want them to come and invest."

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