191. The remoteness of Comoros, particularly with regard to communications, had contributed greatly to the ignorance by other African countries of the most acute problems afflicting his country, namely cyclones, floods, drought and other related natural disasters as well as malnutrition, under-equipment and under-exploitation of available resources. 192. He reminded the Conference that imported African economic systems were not adapted to the needs of the continent and that, if development plans were to attain the objective of self-sustaining, self-reliant development, all analysis must be centred on the farmers' living conditions since a clear perception of their difficulties would provide a key to solving many problems. 193. He concluded by calling on the Conference to adopt an approach making maximum use of African know-how and learning so as to be independent of those who at present profited most from African resources, to the detriment of Africans themselves. 194. The representative of Nigeria observed that the causes of Africa's economic crisis had been identified as poor performance in the agricultural sector, high population growth, drought, desertification, unfavourable terms of trade, heavy external debt and high debt service payments in relation to foreign exchange earnings. National measures to deal with these problems were quite often inadequate: external assistance was needed. International financial organizations and multilateral donors could play a crucial role in helping to stem net capital outflows from the region. He endorsed the idea of taking a collective African approach to the continent's debt problem, to supplement national measures, and emphasizing specific programmes in order to achieve the objectives of the Lagos Plan of Action. 195. The representative of Ghana referred to efforts his country had made in agriculture to stimulate food production and combat desertification and to its far-reaching measures to equip women to contribute more meaningfully 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the challenges faced by the Comoros in terms of economic development, natural disasters, and agricultural development. The representatives of Nigeria and Ghana also mention specific issues such as debt, desertification, and women's empowerment. These topics suggest that the text is related to economic development, agriculture, and natural resources.

**Category**
Economic development, Agriculture, forestry and fishing, Natural resources and environment