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The end of slash-and-burn in Anjouan

Written by Christiane Grimault Modified on the

  • Champ Adda Anjouan

Although slash-and-burn was still in use ten years ago in the Comoros islands, today it has virtually been forgotten, particularly on Anjouan where emphasis has been placed on improving farming practices through training and education. Farmers have been instructed in the use of simple and effective farming methods which are kinder on the soil, unlike the devastating slash-and-burn method.

Hadhar Ridjali, a small farmer in Sima, Anjouan, has finally been won over. Only a few years ago, nothing was able to grow on his land. Like most farmers on the island, he used slash-and-burn, the only method he knew about besides fallow.

With the arrival of the PNDHD Sustainable Development Program in 2008, outreach efforts have resulted in a major breakthrough for agriculture in the region. The methods recommended by technicians such as Saba Ychirini Ridjali are straight forward. The first is to stop using slash-and-burn. Fields are then planted with legumes which assist in soil fixation and which produce compost that the farmer can spread in his fields. Livestock farmers can add manure to further enrich their compost. These farmers will be given help planting grass on steep slopes which will help reduce erosion and will assist in soil regeneration, while serving as fodder for livestock.

Today, for the first time in years, Hadhar Ridjali’s fields are producing crops once again. Yields are improving with each harvest, even without the use of pesticides. It remains to be seen if the environmental damage (including loss of soil fertility, erosion, drying up of rivers, and massive deforestation) caused by decades of destructive practices can be undone…

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