Les Comores : économie agricole et transports

Abstract

The Comoro Islands : Transportation and Agriculture-Based Economy. The Comoro archipelago , composed of the Great Comoro, Anjouan, Mayotte and Moheli islands — 250,000 inhabitants and 2,333 sq. km. — and an overseas territory of the French Republic enjoying internal autonomy since 1961 — derives the major portion of its income from agriculture. The commercial crops — vanilla, copra, perfume fragrances — for the most part in the hands of plantation companies, are of preponderant importance. On the other hand, the food crops — rice, cassava and various root plants, vegetables, fruit and farm animals — are raised in insufficient quantity for domestic needs ; as a consequence, the islands are obliged to import large amounts of food products (30 % of all imports ). The weakness of the Comoros economy is apparent in the adverse balance of payments figures, which show a huge deficit (only about 55 % of expenditures are covered). Communication and transportation means play a vital role in the life of the archipelago. The road system, though modern, is insufficiently developed for the rapidly growing number of vehicles. Maritime traffic, either by coastal or by scheduled line service, is irregular and precarious ; the port systems, however, are in the process of being improved. Great hope is placed in the growth of air transportation. Each island possesses an airport, but only the one of Moroni has modern equipment, which is, nevertheless, inadequate for handling jets. Service with the interior of the islands is improving ; on the other hand, links with the outside are much less dependable and traffic must be routed via Madagascar.