1. 13.5.2015 COMACO Strategic Plan for 2014-2018Dette er
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nelfsider.Page 1COMMUNITY MARKETS FOR CONSERVATIONCOMACO Strategic
Plan for 2014-2018Building links to last:small
farmers,markets,conservation,and partners19 January 2013Page 2
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3. 13.5.2015 COMACO Strategic Plan for 20142018Yet,a signicant
number of rural people remain exceedingly poor and vulnerable to
chronic hunger,particularly in localities where COMACO has been
unable to reach and where poaching and deforestation remain serious
problems.In areas where COMACO has established a strong foothold in
developing producer organizations and improved supply
chains,evidence of reduced poaching and deforestation suggests the
model's potential to address environmental threats in
Zambia.Encouraged by its results but humbled by the scale of
challenges that linger,COMACO remains committed to consolidate its
impact across the entire Luangwa Valley ecosystem and to help build
broader stakeholder interest in the model for possible extension to
other landscapes. Five year strategic plan:big pictureIn pursuing
this path,the COMACO team in consultation with its
community,govermrient and non-govemment partnersi undertook the
development of a 5-year strategic plan for 2014- 2018. Presented
here,the plan charters a clear separation between COMACOs
fannersupport services and its business that manufactures and sells
It's Wild!products,while strengthening their combined impact on
food security.poverty reduction and conservation.The former
contributes to farmer adoption of c| imatesmart farming skills for
producing food crops and consolidating surpluses at community
warehouses for sale to the COMACO business.The latter rewards these
farmers for abandoning environmentally destructive livelihoods
through direct incentive-based purchases of their commodities,which
in turn provide the raw materials for manufacturing It's Wild.
products. Working together under the proposed plan,these two
complementary strategies will help rural communities achieve
important social and conservation outcomes while engaging consumers
to be part of a self-nancing solution for reducing hunger and
poverty in rural farming communities.By the end of 2018, COMACO
will support not less than 160,000 small-scale farmers in Luangwa
Valley through this combined strategy of farmer support services
and a commercial enterprise that offers farmers higher-paying
markets to adopt improved farm practices.This achievement will
extend to all 64 chiefs areas that border the Luangwa Valleys
national parks and national forests and will contribute to a
working model fori To facilitate a Formal consultation process in
the development and stakeholder buy-in of its strategic plan,COMACO
convened three regional stakeholder meetings (Mpika,Serenje and
Chipata) to present the plan and invite contributions to improve on
it.Participants included provincial and district government leaders
(5 District Commissioners,6 District Forestry Ofccrs,2 Regional
ZAWA Officers:1 Provincial Forestry Oiccr,I Provincial Agriculture
Otlicer,1 Provincial Planning Officer ,chiefs (6),NGUS (8) and
private sector parties(4))-Page 4ecosystem management with the
potential for extending the approach to other landscapes with new
partner relationships. Fanner support strategiesThe plan also calls
for an increased role for producer group cooperatives to oversee
the work of over 3000 lead farmers who will serve as instructors
for over 7000 fanner schools (or producer groups) to help promote
the adoption of climate smart,yield-improving agricultural
practices.Through these schools,ofwhich women represent 52%,not
less than l60,000 small-scale farmers will have year-round access
to skills training designed to diversity and increase both food
production and income through appropriate technologies that
ultimately lower labor costs and environmental impact.In
addition,joint activities by COMACO and its NGO partners will
enable an improved transformation of gender relationships that wi
ll lead to increased opportunities for family
health,nutrition,off-farm income opportunities,group credit
schemes,and family planning.Based on initial baseline
surveys,third-party researchers collaborating with COMACO will
provide a formal impact analysis on change in gender relations,food
security,income and improved resilience to climate change.
Additional roles of producer group cooperatives will include
strengthening local management of COMACO's poacher and
charcoal-maker transfonnation programme.COMACO actively transforms
poachers and charcoalmakers (over 1600 people) to adopt alternative
livelihoods with new farming and incomeearning skills and with an
improved personal awareness about themselves,This has provided many
of COMACO's chiefs areas with a core of such transfonned people and
an opportunity to grow this approach by local leaders themselves.
The strategic plan will support this approach through greater
involvement of chiefs and producer group cooperative leaders. http:
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.COMACO Strategic Plan for 20142018Cooperatives will also play a
greater role in managing contract purchases of crops and
facilitating the safe storage of these commodities at their
respective warehouses or depots for sale to COMACO for onward
value-added processing (or to other commercial partners).These same
depots will also serve as farm shops and infonnation centres for
new technologies and skills that enhance both economic and
conservation outcomes for small-scale farmers.Closing the
geographic gaps where COMACO has not operated before,due largely to
inaccessibility,will require basic warehousing facilities at
locations where COMACO transport can reach and where farmers can
feny their commodities to. Introduction of appropriate technologies
for advancing farmer skills and livelihood choices will be an
important part of the strategic plan and much of this effort will
come through increased collaboration and participation of technical
partners.Adaptation of farming innovations by Conservation Farming
Union and GART Institute,such as conservation rip plowing,will be
an important source of continued refinement and diversification of
farming practices COMACO will promote as needs and opportunities
arise.Comells farmer extension services will provide technical
support for improved rice production around the System for Rice
Intensification (SR1) technology.While COMACO focuses mainly on
vulnerable farmers,they will emerge as more viable farmers and will
be encouraged to expand their skills using such technologies that
will reduce the risk of lapsing back into poverty. Involvement of
local leaders to promote the COMACO missionUnder the proposed
strategic plan,producer group cooperative leaders will work with
traditional leaders and district authorities to formulate community
conservation plans and will also help inuence farmer members to
comply with these plans to qualify for premium market prices and
conservation dividend paymentsz.Through the compliance of these
plans,COMACO will assist communities to convert their conservation
efforts into additional market opportunities,including potential
carbon transactions and joint ventures with nature-based private
sector partners:and agro-based private sector partnersr.These
"add-on" revenue sources are intended to enhance the level of
conservation dividend payments needed to further incentivize
conservation and increase income security for farmers. The
strategic plan will also intensify the role of district-level
advisory management committees,whose government and nongovernment
members will play a key role in strengthening the community/ COMACO
relationship by assessing community compliance to conservation
targets as well as COMACO's commitment to fulfill its promise of
inputs,improved skills,and increased market opportunities to
participating communities.It is envisioned that over time there
will be a wider assessment of other stakeholders as their role in
helping inuence positive change in the lives of small-scale farmers
evolves. These assessments will be undertaken by a joint-monitoring
district team,which will evaluate community compliance to agreed
conservation targets,including levels of poaching,illegal
settlements,deforestation and climate smart farming
practices.Improved leadership roles for women will be another
important area of interest for these assessments.Results of these
evaluations for both the community and COMACO (and potentially
other stakeholders) will contribute to improved infonnation ow to
provincial authorities and formalized "roundtable meetings" chaired
by provincial permanent secretaries.These roundtable meetings will
become increasingly accountable to review and strengthen district
level achievements,innovations,and policy needs for supporting
stakeholder efforts and extending such efforts throughout the
province for increased collective conservation action. Building
partnership relationships for extending the modelThrough such
forums,COMACO will facilitate a more open and transparent discourse
on the merits of the COMACO model for increasing stakeholder
interest and potential partnerinvolvement in strengthening the
model.Reinforcing this process will be a concerted exercise with
third-party research and academic institutionss,planned for
2014-15, to carefully analyze2 COMACO offers higher above-market
commodity prices it calls premium prices for surplus food crops it
buysif farmers meet minimum compliance requirements for adopting
improved farming practices.Further to this,COMACO intends to share
its business prots (scheduled for 2019) in the form of conservation
dividends to those communities who meet required conservation
targets related to improved forest and wildlife management.
4/38
5. 13.5.2015 COMACO Strategic Plan for 20142018Prior to that
date,COMACO will nd other ways of offering conservation dividends
in terms of farm inputs and new emerging carbon-based markets 2
Various lodge owners and tourism stakeholders in Luangwa Valley
have approached COMACO to join togetherinto an alliance that will
combine complementary skills sets mm a unified a commercial partner
for helpingmanage selected game management areas with increased
community incentives for conservation.4 COMACO and the Zambian Food
Reserve Agency (F RA) have begun consultations to collaborate on
ways topartner and ll'lCCl'IIIVl7A;conservation compliance by
offering early F RA payments 5 Cori-iells Adcinson Center for a
Sustainable Future has formalized a relationship with COMACO to
help lead arange of research studies on COMACO's work and has
invited the collaboration of other partners interested in COMACO's
future,including the Wildlife Conservation Society,The Nature
Conservancy,and tl1e Mulago FoundationPage 6results,methods and
impact of the COMACO model in the Luangwa Valley for dissemination
to stakeholders and collaborating partners.Parallel efforts to
update the COMACO websitewill provide more efficient access to this
information for wider readership and interaction with COMACO to
better explain the model and recognize the partners it works with.
In addition to promoting partnership roles for strengthening
operations within Luangwa Valley,the plan will also support various
partnership models for ways the COMACO model could be extended to
new landscapes in Zambia,including business partnerships seeking
commercial benets from COMACOs brand,Ir '5 Wild/ . COMACO seeks to
explore such opportunities in ways that will encourage partners
with their own levels of nancial support to enhance conservation
and rural development in Zambia.The longer term intention is to
strengthen opportunities for building a more robust national
economy around markets and land use practices good for the
environment.Through such a strategy it is hoped that the COMACO
model and a stronger partnership base will provide better
alternatives for reducing poverty and its inherent social ills than
commercial enterprises that contribute to environmental degradation
and loss of biodiversity.In facilitating these efforts,COMACO will
use on-line information,social media,a public sector communications
campaign about COMACO,and a series stakeholder consultative forums
to better inform the public and attract partner interest. While
strategically important for the long-term,these expansion efforts
will be secondary to COMACO's primary tasks of consolidating its
farmer support services across the Luangwa Valley ecosystem and
demonstrating its full impact on rural livelihoods and
conservation. The business strategyOne of the fundamental
differences between the COMACO model and other conservation farming
models in Zambia is the creation of a robust,stable and expanding
market that incentivizes its registered farmers to leam and apply
skills that achieve conservation results.As such,the proposed
strategic plan requires the business to scale up its operations in
commodity purchasing and product sales to meet market expectations
from a growing number of farmer members.Without a strong business
model capable of offering market incentives for producers,farmers
will have no option but to sell their crops through the traditional
market system,allowing traders to aggressively drive down crop
prices and remove any incentives for conservation or better farming
results.To avoid this scenario,COMACO will signicantly scale-up its
food product business under the brand,1r's Wild],and will escalate
the volume of commodity trading sales as an overall strategy for
accommodating a growing number of COMACO farmer members with
improved market incentives. While 1ts Wild. products provide a far
greater gross margin (45%-l-) and opportunity to incentivize
conservation and reduce poverty than commodity markets (about
10%),the current reality is that the total food surplus that COMACO
farmers can bring to the market far exceeds current production
capacity of It's Wild. products.Recognizing this problem and while
keeping small-scale farmers committed to growing the right crops
and with improved farming practices,COMACO will support both
markets but with a strategy of scaling up the It's Wild.
volumes,relative to commodity trades.This transition will happen
incrementally as critical investments are secured to support
increased value-added processing capacities and as detailed
investment plans are finalized and agreed to by potential
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.COMACO Strategic Plan for 20142018This strategy has a strong
rationale based on expressed interests by key regional
retailers,including both Shoprite and Massmart,to have
It:Wild!products introduced into South Africa as well as other
regional countries.This interest has come from the growing
recognition of the quality of its Wild. products as well as the
social,environmental mission they serve.The latter offers the big
retailers a ready opportunity to promote their own corporate social
responsibility by assisting COMACO to enter the regional export
market.The scale of this export opportunity is quite literally huge
and would enable COMACO to service the market needs of its farmers
without relying on lower returns from high volume commodity
trades.The annual demand for groundnuts alone in South Africa
signicantly exceeds supply and there is a vibrant market for both
graded groundnuts and peanut butter paste in the commodity market
as well as the opportunities mentioned above to sell lts Wild.
peanut butter through the large regional chain stores. In order for
the company to take full advantage of these market opportunities
created by the strength of COMACO's brand,it is critical for the
business to scale up its production processes and facilities to
meet international quality standards,including but not limited to
the measurement and control of aatoxin levels.COMACO embarked on
this strategy in 2012 with the consolidation of manufacturing in
Chipata for the whole of Eastern Province with the procurement of
commercial property and the construction of manufacturing plants
and warehouses. COMACO's next five year strategic plan vnll build
on this investment to significantly improve processing capacity and
quality control capability at this plant as well as similar
up-scaling at a second manufacturing hub in Serenje.Without such
investment the business will be constrained both in terms of market
and product development. Cornell University and General Mills,two
long-standing technical partners closely allied with COMACO,will
assist COMACO in preparing detailed investment plans for specified
product lines in early 2014s.These plans will demonstrate to
potential investors the viability of investing in COMACO's
future.While there are a number of potential new products with
strong commercial promise,products already in production that can
have more immediateimpact on scaling farmer benefits include peanut
butter,honey,rice,livestock feed and corn soya blend.COMACO's
quality peanut butter product,for instance,has an enormous growth
potential in markets throughout southem Africa,and It's Wild. could
become the leading brand with annual sales volumes of over 3000
tons (a 6-fold increase over current production levels).Investment
required to achieve this needed processing output is about
$400,000, which will be an important first step in building the
scale of value-added processing needed to keep COMACO's small-scale
farmer approach for conservation on track.This investment in
capital equipment would also enable the company to produce roasted
groundnuts sold as a high margin snack food in the local and
regional supennarket chains. As it secures investment and achieves
its capitalization needs,COMACO will develop strategic ties with
regional and international commodity trading houses to help meet
the shortfall of purchased commodities that It:Wild. sales may be
unable to sustain.These alliances will enable COMACO to take
advantage of the strong on ground warehouse infrastructure and
relationships with its producer communities to offer a direct
market for commodities such as maize.groundnuts,cassava and soy
beans.Specific alliances currentlyi A member ofthe Cornell business
team will begin their work and visit to Zambia in February 2014 and
the team expects to complete the formal,detailed business
investment plan by June 2014include Cargill and NWK,both of whom
understand the COMACO model and see an opportunity of advancing
their own corporate image and business growth through an
association with COMACO.Initially,COMACO will buy commodities on
mandate from farmers but as our expertise and capacity develops in
this area,the company would trade commodities directly with end
users. COMACO is also developing relationships with large-scale
Zambian manufacturing operations that have a requirement for the
crops produced by COMACO's farmers for entering into long term
supply contracts with more favorable prices for its farm
producers.These relationships are at an early stage but could lead
to two potential outcomes:higher commodity6/38
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COMACO Strategic Plan for 20142018value for farmers and possible
[15 Wild ' co-branding with other food manufacturers through which
COMACO could quickly and more cheaply diversify its product
range.Such consideration ofjoint-manufacturing will be given ifthe
brand promise ofhelping poor farmers have a better life and achieve
conservation of their natural resources can be clearly
demonstratedBusiness forecastReconciling the above challenges and
opportunities,COMACO is poised to increase its annual total sales
revenues over the next five years,derived entirely from crops
purchased from its farmer members,to $15 million under a more
conservative investment plan to as high as $29 million under an
investment plan that will help COMACO modernize.scale and diversify
its processing facilities These preliminary forecasts.based on
reliable orders discussed with regional retailers and commodity
volumes COMACO's farmers can achieve,demonstrate the growing
prospect for achieving a self-financing trajectory for the business
within 1-2 years and for its farmer support services within 5 to 6
years.Under the conservative business expansion model it is
estimated that about 38,000 famiers will benet directly from COMACO
crop purchases,contributing to a total of $350 per fanner per year
into theirannual income (or $500-$600 when monetizing other
benefits)7. The number of farmers who would directly benefit under
the aggressive expansion model by the same amount will increaseto
approximately 67.000. SummaryThe 2014-2018 COMACO strategic plan
provides complementary strategies on the part of donor-supported
farmer support services that promote small-sca. le farmer food
security and conservation outcomes across the whole of Luangwa
Valley.and the COMACO business that builds its capacity to sustain
income and food security benefits for upwards to 160,000 small-
scale farming families. The plan supports a strongly monitored
effort to meet and analyze specic targets for achieving social and
environmental solutions for small-scale farmers and incremental
capacities by C OMACO to operate its business with increasing net
cash positions for sustaining its overall approach to rural
development and conservation by 2018. The plan also promotes ways
to increase levels of conservation dividend payments,particularly
through carbon-based market sources,to reward participating
communities for applying effective leadership in achieving
conservation milestones. 7 When COMACO began its work in 2003.
annual income for small-scale farmmg families ui Luangwa Valley was
on average less than $100Lessons learned and systems tested and
described will be a critical output of the proposed strategic
plan.With greater stakeholder review of this information,the
strategic plan will help build increased national stakeholder
discourse and interest in the COMACO model and greater access to
COMACO "blue-print" designs and for extending the model elsewhere
in Zambia for a stronger,national "green" economy7/38
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Strategic Plan for 20142018VisionThe COMACO vision is to help
achieve a national rural landscape where smallholder farmer
households enjoy food security and lead lives enriched by the
natural environment which they steward through sustainable
practices. Vhat the Strategic Plan hopes to achieveBuilding on
COMACO's past history,the proposed 5-year strategic plan will
achieve economic sustainability for delivering COMACOs social and
environmental impact benets across the entire Luangwa Valley
landscape.In addition.COMACO will forge important partnerships for
helping extend COMACO to landscapes outside Luangwa Valley in
Zambia. BackgroundCOMACO vas conceptualized as a solution to rural
hunger and poverty,recognized as key drivers for land and natural
resource degradation across much OfAll'lCi13. lts efforts were
focused in Luangwa Valley,Zambia,where the proponents of the model
had a long history of wildlife conservation and experience in
community-based natural resources managementFrom 2003 to 2009,
COMACO operated as a pilot scheme and thereafter became legally
instituted as a nonprofit,limitedb_vguarantee company registered in
Zambia.During this entire period,the model has gained evidence that
poor farmers do not have to be the problem to land
degradation;instead,they can be the solution.It is a lesson that
continues to reshapeand strengthen the relationship between
agriculture and conservation as a basis for managing large,rural)
semi-wild landscapes By addressing the key drivers of hunger and
poverty,namely market access.commodity prices,farm inputs,gender
disparity,and crop production skills,COMACO is showing that
positive behavior change toward development and conservation is
both possible and sustainable. COMACO combines a farmer support
approach for training and providing inputs with its business that
produces and sells value-added food products made from food crop
surpluses COMACO buys from its farmer members.From the sale of
these products,COMACO is able to reward farmer commitment to
improved farming and land use practices by offering premium prices
for these surplus commodities when commitment is verified and
old,destructive practices are abandoned While problems of rural
poverty are still endemic in the Valley,COMACO has brought relief
to many thousands,and rates of resource destruction as a8/38
9. 13.5.2015 COMACO Strategic Plan for 20142018coping strategy
have declined9.This strategy has taken almost l0 years to grow into
a functioning model through an organization that today delivers
these services to 86,995 farmer members (20,000 recently5 Initial
baseline surveys in 2000-2001 showed family incomes were less than
$100 from a random sample of1100 and as many as 40% of the
households in most years were unable to grow enough food to reach
the next harvest These problems were strongly correlated with rates
of wildlife poaching. o For households fully trained,producing a
surplus and triuling with COM ACO (approximar/ ely 15,000 selling
crops to COMACO to date),income lill is about $140 from COMACO
alone and over $300 from all sources combined.Food security levels
have declined to about l0-20% and wildlife populations have
stabilimd or are generally increasing with few exceptions across
most areas where COMACO operates9 Page 11 recruited in 2013),of
which 52% are women who are showing progressive improvements in
their power relations at both the household and community level.It
is also an approach that has proven exible and effective in
responding to challenges that low-income,small-scale farmers
typically face.including climate-related crop loss,high cost of
commercial farm inputs,unreliable markets and access to better
markets,and lack of life skills needed to plan a better life
without depleting natural resourcesit SWOT Analysis The preparation
of the five-year strategic plan reviewed internal strengths and
weaknesses of the COMACO organization itself and externally derived
opportunities and threats that will likely inuence the future
development of COMACO and the success of this strategic plan.A
summary of these issues,which formed the basis for the plans
formulation,is presented below:Strengths Weaknesses ~ High brand
visibility built around ~ Significant gaps in COMACOs coverage
product quality and mission to consolidate its impact in Luangwa -
Organized and motivated staff V5-"BY organization with good work
ethics .Needed eapaeity td keep product ,Deep understanding of
Social and production in sync with increasing farmer environmental
issues members and crop harvests - Strong network of farmer support
' Weak commumty capacity 10 hlp .services able to penetrate rural
areas supervise lead farmers,crop bulking,_ staff capacity in
C11-matsmart depot management,and conservation agriculture,gender
issues,and traditional compllame leadership - Challenges to raise
debt nancing to _ Good mastmcture and tgchmcal purchase increasing
food crop surpluses Capacity "1 f00d PFOCCSSIUS - Ability to manage
cash flows effectively - Capacity to outsource and build strong to
ensure mnely repayment flan5 Vedef felamnships - Lack of production
capacity to penetrate .Advanced accounting System and into new
markets,especially exports imP10Ving aPaitY to use it -
National-level collaboration weak for - Effective systems for
training small-scale some government msmunons farmers across
different cultural barriers .Internal comm] systems need - Good
working relationships with local 'mPrVemem govemment and
traditional leaders .Uptake of new technologies by farmers - Strong
goodwill factor among constrained by high levels of illiteracy
govermnent,institutional and commercial entities.Opportunies
Threats - Alliance of partners increasing - Competing interests
from illegal markets COMACOs technical and commercial and from much
larger multi-national Ill COMACO has developed a Better Life Book
For each ol'iLs producer groups ofahout 15 members that contains
individual learning pages on a range of topics through pictures and
simple text that help men and women with limited education to
achieve more from the income they eani and the labour they use
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20142018strengths and scale of information dissemination
COMACO,could undermine incentive systemcompanies w/contrary values
to- Growing volume of by-products able to produce
low-cost.potentially highmargin/high conservation value products-
Farmer services and related crop production dependent on donor
support until the business is strong enough to- Tipping point
approaching where cost/$131 both benefit advantages are now
attractingnew partners to expand/ replicate the- Export
requirements exceed current product production capacity model -
Close collaboration with government - Key retail customers willing
to facilitate remams Tel3llVl} Weak Uhollgh regional exports (e. g.
Shoprite) improving with District Advisory Management Committees)
and could jeopardize ways of strengthening the model and its
expansion- Improved livelihood alternatives and market incentives
enabling traditionalleaders to advance conservation results at the
0mmUmtY IBVCI - Lack international certication
necessary,C0St_e~eCtiVe way for promoting for gaining access to
premium-priced climate-smart technologies with high CXPOI1
mafkelsad0Pll" ale - Busiriess/ accounting capacity unable to
consistently meet reporting requirements- High potential for
multi-partner synergies for compliance to good business
practicesfor collaboration and joint-enterprises- Increased
exposure to potential costs/ risks because of large geographicarea
it coversContextWhile COMACO has established a solid foundation for
integrating agriculture,markets and conservation across much of the
Greater Luangwa Valley ecosystem,there remains the critical
challenge of reaching a critical mass of farmer numbers to
effectively reverse poverty trends with desired and lasring
environmental outcomes for this ecosystem.With an approximate total
population of about 250,000 farming families residing across this
landscape,it is estimated 85% represents small-scale farmers who
depend largely on their own food crop for their annual food and
income security COMACOs current farmer membership represents about
35% of this bottomofthcpyramid population and to be fully effective
as a model,a target of 60-70% is needed for a valley-wide inuence
to reverse current trends and achieve desired environmental
results.This argument is based on the fact that while there is
clear evidence resource degradation has declined through the
inuence of COMACO.widespread degradation,particularly habitat
encroachment and illegal hunting,continues and especially in areas
where COMACO is absent or where partnership relationships with
COMACO have yet to establish themselves. COMACOs farmer support
services perfonns three primary functions to address the linkages
between vulnerable,small scale farmers and the conservation
challenges where they live:- provides the skills and means for its
fanner members to grow more food and diversify income sources to
add approximately $170 to their total annual income,excluding
income derived from sales to COMACO,which averaged about $90 in
2012,ll- organizes fanner members into groups (producer groups and
cooperatives) that are able to plan and inuence community actions
for the future protection andmanagement of natural resources,and -
build effective synergies with local stakeholders and partners to
increase transparency.objectivity,and technical assistance in
achieving farmer compliance to conservation guidelines as
entitlements for premium prices and conservation dividends.By
helping increase both income and food security while adding
financial incentives to10/38
11. 13.5.2015 COMACO Strategic Plan for 20142013 9t6Hl}al"lkl3
mmnmgmas%d&mmwtm C0 is demonstrating itsAs it continues to
rene,strengthen and consolidate its activities across the Luangwa
Valley to achieve a desired scale of impact,COMACO's farmer support
services need to address anumber of key challenges: - Close
geographic gaps in COMACOs operational areas to effectively
encompass the ecosystem, - Achieve sufficient inputs and variety of
inputs to support increased crop diversification and adapt to
climate change, - Improve targeting and transformation of farmers
who engage in poaching,charcoal- making and other destructive
livelihoods, - Expand non-tiinber forestbased sources of income, -
Strengthen skills needed by lead farmer as producer group
instructors, - Improve warehousing capacity for small-scale farmers
to store and sell their commodities, - Improve the use of gender
sensitive life skills that support not only food production,reduced
post-harvest crop losses,and increased income but also improvements
in family nutrition,health,HIV/ AIDS awareness and prevention,and
family planning, - Expand leadership roles for women as lead
farmers and PGC leaders and as a more assertive voice in the
community, - Improve efficiency in disseminating knowledge to
farmers on improved technologies,resource management needs and
market information,- Increase efforts by well-coordinated partners
to promote COMACO activities, - Increase monitoring and evaluation
capacity to track,verify and document eld results and levels of
farmer compliance to conservation targets and analyze actual impact
onbehavioral change,and- Strengthen incentives that motivate
communities to achieve greater public good for natural resource
protection. One of COMACOs greatest strengths in working through
these issues is its staff Many have accumulated a decade of
hands-on experience piloting new innovations in technologies and
farming practices with practical ways for facilitating their
adoption and continued use in rural communities where illiteracy
rates are as high as 70%.Combined with parallel efforts to monitor
and evaluate these efforts,COMACO is able to assess its successes
and failures and maintain an on-going process ofmodel renement.An
important part ofthis self-assessment is to track the
cost-efficiency of its farmer support services and to make adaptive
adj ustrnents in these services that will reduce per farmer
extension costs without reducing the overall quality of services
providedi i. It This effort is a critical part of C()M. ACO's
strategy to enable busmess revenues to sustain much if not all of
COMACO's extension support costs over the next five years.Various
ideas for doing this will be to graduate producer groups to be less
dependent on a lead farmer,lower the cost of monimring with
android-based12Page 14Progress to date shows strong evidence that
the COMACO organization has attained a high level of core
competencies and values for serving small farmers,working
effectively with partners.leveraging social and environmental
impacg and meeting local consumer demands for safe,healthy food
productsiz.COMACO believes the next five years should see continued
improvement in these competencies and its efficiencies in
delivering them that will advance gender needs and
equality,adoption of climate smart technologies,and community
organization for promoting conservation and efficient supply chains
for food crop surpluses. On the business side,challenges remain to
grow COMACO to a scale that will accommodate the market needs for a
growing number of farmer members with price incentives that
motivate positive behavior change while achieving economic
sustainability for both the business and farmer services.Addressing
these challenges will require COMACO to build improved business
capacity to raise nance and service loans,form strategic
partnerships that enhance opportunities to expand markets and
produce new products with reduced risks and costs,and modernize
production technologies to achieve needed volumes for premium
export markets with required international food safety
standards.Through these efforts,COMACO will become more protected
from market competition and high transaction costs. The proposed
strategic plan recognizes these potential
challenges,opportunities,weaknesses and threats as a central part
of its work over the next five years. http:
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.COMACO Strategic Plan for 2014-2018 MissionIncentivize smallholder
farmers with inputs,skills and markets to adopt sustainable,climate
smart farming practices for achieving household livelihood security
and improved conservation of land and natural resourcesThis mission
statement provides a broad company commitment to small-scale
farmers and the particular way the COMACO works with these
farmers:- targets low income,food insecure families who are most
vulnerable to degrading their natural resources - works through
farmers with equal gender focus - regards small-scale farmers,both
men and women,as good land stewards if supported adequately with
skills,inputs and markets - regards its farmer members as partners
to the COMACO business and builds their ownership in it through
increased transparency,joint planning,and increasedresponsibility
for the farmer warehouse system to supply raw materials to the
COMACO value chain- acknowledges the need for supporting a greater
leadership role for women - encourages close working relationships
with Government to reinforce and strengthen national policies on
conservation,poverty reduction and food security- depends on
urbanbased consumers through product sales to sustain incentives
for driving compliance and achieving landscape-scale conservation
resultsmonitoring technologies,Irlcrcascd rcllzlncc on COMACO own
certified revolving seed inventory as opposed to commercially
lmuglrl seeds,etc iz Under the It:Wild],COMACO produce a range of
products derived entirely from raw materials produced byits farmer
members Products include white and brown rice,peanut butter,a
soy-based product called Yummy Soy,a breakfast
cereal,honey.beans,dried mangos,and dried wild mushrooms13-
requires commitment to quality,healthy,value-added food products
under the brand It '5 Wild] that brings increased income benets
back to small-scale farm producers- embraces a wide range of life
skills to enable farmer members have smaller,healthier,more
productive families. Statement of ProblemFarming for most
small-scale farmers in Luangwa Valley is a life of hard
labour,often bonie by women,using farming practices that typically
limit productivity,crop diversity and incomes,and as a
result,increases risks of soil degradation,deforestation,and
biodiversity loss as households seek ways to cope.The general
factors contributing to this outcome is a lack of effective
extension services that promote improved production
technologies,poor access to affordable farm inputs,and markets that
fail to support the adoption of these technologies or build
effective synergies between forests,wildlife and agriculture.65% of
all people living within the valley watershed in Eastern
Province,for example,are considered to be exceedingly poor,well
above the national average of 5l%, despite a national economic
growth rate of about 7.6%.Correlated with these socioeconomics is a
landscape that faces high rates of deforestation,land
degradation,and biodiversity loss. In addition,climate models
predict increasing rates of transpiration,rising temperatures (15-
3.0 degrees Celsius over the next 40 years),and greater variability
in the pattem of rainfall in Zambia over the next 40 years.Such
trends will increase demands for crop diversicationwith varying
tolerances for climate extremes and for more adaptive,labour-saving
farming practices for water and nutrient retention in soils. If
effective mitigating solutions are not put into place,small-scale
fanners will experience growing risks of crop loss and uncertain
livelihood security.Under such scenarios,Zambia could witness
massive losses of biodiversity in the future as small farmers seek
coping strategies to satisfy household food and income security
needs from such off-farm sources as charcoal-making,wildlife
poaching,shnetting,and timber-cutting. Such outcomes will not only
limit future economic opportunities and endanger ecosystem
services,but will perpetuate rural poverty and hunger,leading
toward a new equilibrium ofhuman impoverishment and depleted
biodiversity.Competing market interests to satisfy immediate social
and economic needs may help to fill this void,but are either
illegal orenvironmentally destructive or risky.For example,local
farmers turned poachers can earn up to $100/kg on the black market
for elephant ivory,or farmers can sell off their trees as12/38
13. 13.5.2015 COMACO Strategic Plan for 20142018charcoal along
roadside markets where ready buyers reward local residents for
destroying their forest resources.Other markets entice farmers to
grow nonfood crops dependent onchemicals and potentially harmful to
soil nutrients to sustain international value chains. Such problems
facing Zambia,and the Luangwa Valley in particular,are
complex.Greater commitment and understanding by government and
non-government partners working together to address these problems
are often wanting.The principal challenge is moving beyond
sector-driven agendas to accommodate a broader set of cross-cutting
objectives reinforced with the right markets and technologies that
can help drive and serve the interests of both conservation and the
farmer. 14Page 16ApproachDuring its 10-year history in Luangwa
Valley,COMACO has demonstrated a costeffective way for linking
poverty reduction and food security to improved conservation and
land management across a mosaic of protected wildlife
areas,watersheds and small-holder farmland spanning over 77,000
km2. It provides a range of farmer support services through a lead
farmer /producer group (farmer schoo1)model supported by
compliance-based market incentives that accelerate the adoption of
technologies for increasing crop yields and reducing destructive
land uses.Operating in parallel but independently of these farmer
support services is the business section of COMACO that uses social
and private capital to purchase and manufacture food crop
surpluses,primarily rice,groundnuts,soybeans and honey,from its
farmer members into value-added food products sold under the
brand,It s Wild! . The brand,known for its healthy,nutritious
products and derived from sustainable,climate-smart farming
practices,is well-established in retail stores throughout Zambia
with annual sales currently exceeding $3.0 million. The proposed
strategic plan will build on this approach and strengthen it
further by- maintaining a clear separation of accounts,staff,and
accountability of work performed between its farmer support
services and its commercial company, holding each section
accountable for meeting their respective targets through their own
strategies of promoting appropriate technologies and efficiencies
that will facilitategrowth in farmer members,coverage of
operations,and revenues to build increased sustainability for both
sections working in parallel, - increasing the role of farmer
members,through their respective cooperative ,_ associations,to
take on a greater role of managing farm production and
consolidation of farm commodities at community-managed warehouses,
- providing increased roles and opportunities for women for
achieving greater gender balance in the community, - strengthening
the warehouse receipt system to facilitate farmer transactions with
the COMACO business and reducing transaction costs for its supply
chain, - enhancing the role of district-level management advisory
committees to monitor and foster community commitment to
conservation compliance targets, - building increased share of its
total sales from commodity trading transactions as it raises nance
to modemize and scale up processing equipment, - increasing the
efficiency and volume of It's Wild!product production to penetrate
regional export markets, - increase the range of value-added
products to maximize the full utilization of commodities purchased,
- make It's Wild. sales relative to commodity trading the greater
share of total business sales for increasing COMACO's own
sustainability and increasing the value returned to farmers for
supporting COMACOs mission, - provide more opportunities for
stakeholder forums to build interest and support in the COMACO
model,and- implement a range of strategies that will grow
partnerships for replicating the model across other
landscapes,increasing commercial synergies for developing new
products under the lts Wild!brand,and strengthening other types of
synergies that will continue to bring improved technologies and
income benets for farmers and communities who actively steward
improved natural resource management. 1 5 http:
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2014-2018GoalsThe focus of this strategic plan is to scale up the
COMACO model through a combined effort of its farmer support
services and its business company to achieve the following goals:1)
consolidate best practices across the Luangwa Valley ecosystem as a
demonstration of COMACOs growing social and environmental impact,2)
increase partner roles for strengthening and extending the COMACO
model tonew landscapes in Zambia and improving market opportunities
that further incentivize small farmers to adopt improved production
and conservation practices,and3) achieve economic sustainability
through commercial growth opportunities and increased efciencies.
In achieving these goals by 2018, COMACO will be able to sustain
sufficient market incentives and farmer support services to keep up
to 160,000 small-scale farmers committed to good land management
and farming practices that promote conservation results.This
outcome envisions COMACO achieving economic sustainability for its
enterprise in Luangwa Valley.Through improved documentation of
results,methods and impact of COMACO in Luangwa Valley disseminated
to a broad stakeholder audience,the strategic plan will facilitate
a growing number of partners to contribute to COMACO's growth and
expansion to other landscapes in Zambia. Objectives Goal 1:
Consolidate best practices across the Luangwa Valley landscape1.
Provide COMACO farmer support services to all chiefs areas
surrounding the Luangwa Valley,totaling 64 chiefdoms and covering
an area of approximately 77,000 krm (Annex1) by the end of2018,2.
Provide increasingly efficient extension services to 160,000i3
small-scale farming families based on an improved lead farmer model
to enable present and future generations to better cope with such
challenges as food security,climate change,farm input
requirements,grain storage,household nance,fuel wood needs,and
improved family health and family planning. 3. Achieve food
security for not less than 130,000 small-scale farming families
with sufficient skills and crop diversity to sustain livable
incomes without relying on destructive uses of local natural
resources. 4. Establish producer group cooperatives for each of the
chiefs areas where COMACO operates to achieve the following: - help
strengthen and monitor lead farmer perfonnance, I3 Farmer
recruitment and training has come largely from the fmancial support
of the Royal Norwegian Embassyand the United States Agency for
International Development Their respective contribution to current
farmer members is 61,000 and 26,000 Meeting the 160,000 target
would require the further recruitment and training of approximamly
73,000 farmers~ supervise the bulking and consolidation of
commodities at community-managed warehouses, - negotiate commodity
contracts on behalf of their members with COMACO, ~ undertake and
plan with traditional and district authorities the creation of
community conservation plans, 1614/38
15. 13.5.2015 COMACO Strategic Plan for 20142018- r ote etter
life skills and I aders i oles for wo en in the comm ni ~
Eellanmoni or community compfliancellidhlie communiiy conservation
pllan foreligibility to receive incentive payments),- help mitigate
wildlife human conicts,and- contribute to the development of
community trading depots as storage points for farm
commodities,cooperative meeting place,and farmer shops. 5. Build
chiefs capacity to play an assertive role in championing positive
change in farming practices,land use,and conservation. 6. Establish
COMACO/ community advisory management committees,chaired by
District Commissioners,to oversee partnership relationships between
fann producer communities, COMACO,and other participating
stakeholders to promote agreed environmental targets and
fulfillment of COMACOs market and farmer support services. 7.
Support collaboration with its NGO partners to advance appropriate
food production technologies for continued improvements in yields
and crop diversificationu8. With NGO collaboration increase
gender-focused activities that contribute to improved
literacy,income opportunities,life skills,and leadership roles for
women (e. g. lead farmer workforce composed of not less than 35%
women) while contributing to healthier,safer lives (adoption of
family planning,improved awareness of HIV/ AIDS,more diverse
nutrient food base). 9. Continue strengthening incentive payments
and access to skills to reduce illegal hunting of
wildlife,destructive,wasteful tree-cutting,over-shing,and shifting
agricultural practices10. Jointly monitor with appropriate
government departments the impact of these strategies to facilitate
greater dialogue and understanding about the COMACO model at such
forums as provincial roundtable meetings. 1 1. Establish in not
less than 20% of the participating chiefs areas,community
conservation areas,designated for resource protection under
community-driven management and regulations. 12. Through its own
monitoring and evaluation studies and with on-going collaboration
with partner institutions,contribute to a better understanding of
small-scale fanning systems in building solutions for conservation
and rural livelihood. 13. Pioneer new market drivers for enhancing
farmer community commitment to conservation,such as carbon markets
and joint-ventures with nature-based private sector partnersIt
Among the key partners zissistiiig COMACO include Cornell
University,General Mills,and lcchnosenicl7Page 1 9Goal 2: Increase
partner roles for strengthening COMACO in Luangwa Valley and
replicating the model across new landscapes in ZambiaThe proposed
strategic plan will engage potential partners to improve COMACOs
implementation within Luangwa Valley and to forge potential
relationships that might lead to a COMACO extension to other
regions of Zambia.Key objectives the strategic plan will achieve
over the next five years are summarized below: 1. Enhance COMACOs
continued development and consolidation in Luangwa Valley through a
diverse range of partners capable of bringing added strengths to
expected outcomes,such as- increased use of radio broadcast to
promote the adoption of appropriate skills for reducing poverty and
increasing commitment to conservation- increased private sector
partnerships that promote environmentally safe farming practices, ~
increased climate adaptation through improved food crop varieties
and production practices, - increased collaboration (e. g.
forums,provincial stakeholder meetings) with government and
n0ngovermnent institutions to enhance solutions for conservationand
build better understanding and support for COMACO,http:
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16. 13.5.2015 COMACO Strategic Plan for 20142018COMACO has
established collaborative relationships with the following partners
for strengthening the COMACO model in Luangwa Valley: - Radio
Breeze- Cargill- Msekera,Ministry ofAgrieulture and
Livestock,Japanese International Cooperation,Golden Agriculture
Research Trust,Conservation Farming Union- Forestry
Department,Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA),local andprovincial
government authorities,local chiefs,Community Resources Boards -
CARE - CQucst,World Bank BioCarbon Fund,BioCarbon Partners -
Cornell's Atkinson Center for a Sustainable FutureCOMACOs efforts
to establish local partner forums,including the District Advisory
Committees and the Provincial Roundtable Meetings have helped
generate increased working relationships with various
non-government stakeholders and key government partners.These
efforts are contributing to more fomialized,structuredways these
stakeholders can support the COMACO model. 2. Use Luangwa Valley as
a platform of results and experiences to share documented methods
and lessons among potential partners and stakeholders who may be
interested in extending the COMACO model to other landscapes in
Zambia. 3 Formulate legal frameworks to formalize possible
partnerships with COMACO for extending the model through the use of
COMACO's trademarks and brand name. -'1. Initiate and support
partnerships for strengthening COMACO operations (through MOUS) or
extending COMACO to other landscapes or through possible commercial
synergies (through agreements). 18Page 20There are various models
for involving partners in a replication process,based largely on
lessons taken from Luangwa Valley experience,the brand appeal of It
'3 Wild; , and COMACOs capacity to market,sell and distribute
products.The strategic plan acknowledges that the replication
process will require time and should notjeopardize current efforts
for strengthening the model in Luangwa Valley but also concedes
that interest expressed by various organizations to use the model
is growing.Such a process should also be largely stakeholder driven
with support from COMACO to bring parties together to engage and
have an open debate on how best a replication approach might
work.The strategic plan therefore puts into motion basic
preliminary steps that will help facilitate a pathway for COMACO
replication when the time is right.Various models for involving
partners in the replication process are predicated on signicant
levels ofself-financing and include. - Partners capable of working
with producers who can supply one or more commodities for direct
purchase by COMACO into a particular value chain already
established by COMACO,such as honey or rice.Potential partners are
Bioeatbon Partners,Namwala Honey Producers Association,African
Parks,Community Resource Boards.safari hunting companies with
concessions in a game management area. - Partners capable of
supporting both commodity production and semi-processing of an 1117
Wild!product for final production and sale under the its Wild.
brand byCOMACO.Potential partners include PAM,Mumbwa Honey
Producers Association- Partners capable of taking on a relatively
large landscape and developing their own products and by using the
its Wild. Brand,with possible assistance fromCOMACO for sales and
distributionPotential organizations who may consider a partnership
agreement for supporting and adopting the COMACO model: - The
Nature Conservancy (experience in Tanzania with pastoralists and
markets,currently working around Kafuc National Park)- Programme
Against Malnutrition (working in Gwembe Valley with small- scale
farmers,developing skills for producing semi-processed products)-
BioCarbon Partners (working in Rufunsa District,Chief Bunda Bunda
area,developing forest-based products)http: //webcache.
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.COMACO Strategic Plan for 20142018- Kaaaseatviaatiaiiveeiaioiie
seaiotaeaaaetaeeel Perk interested in- African Parks (working in
Bangweulu Swamps,interested in exploring ways to diversify income
away from overfishing and poaching),COMACO hasstarted buying honey
from their producers- Mwembezyi Natural Conservation Society
(working around Kafuc National Park in Chief Mwembezyi's area)-
Safari hunting operators (as a required community pledge,could
support farmers to produce commodities for purchase by
COMACO);selected lodges in Mfuwe seeking an alliance with COMACO to
help manage game management areas- Various honey producer and rice
producer associations (could modify their production practices to
meet COMACO criteria in exchange for an improved market value for
their semi-processed products as It s Wildl)l95. Build commercial
synergies around the It is Wild!brand and the COMACO
missionCompanies with signicant financing and technology knowhow
and interest in using and supporting the It is Wila'. / brand may
wish to partner with COMACO.Such companies could tap into COMACO's
large producer capacity and thus contribute to a positive social
and environmental outcome that has strong consumer appeal for their
own commercial success.In such cases,COMACO would offer its
trademarks and technologies under amutually agreed business
arrangement and through a legally binding agreement that would
require a partner company to meet the It's Wild. brand quality and
conditions of support for small-scale farmers and
conservation.Through such synergies and certication of
standards,COMACO would be able to facilitate a more diverse range
of products forfurthering its mission.Though not a food processing
company,the Zambian Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has expressed an
interest in collaborating with COMACO to promote ricefarmers in
ways that will enhance market volumes around the It's Wild!brand
with a joint branding of FRA. Goal 3: Achieve economic
sustainability through commercial growth
opportunitiesBackgroundOver the past eight years COMACO has
acquired a strong foundation of technologies and capacities in
product processing,as well as marketing and sales,to build a
signicant market share in the Zambian marketplace for rice,peanut
butter,honey and soy-based,ready-to-eat food products.More recently
launched products have also begun to build a growing consumer
base.One of COMACO's greatest achievements to date,built around
these products,is a strong consumer awareness of COMACO's
It:Wild!brand for value and quality.Supporting this brand is a
large fanner producer base that has increasingly become part of the
brand's story because of the company commitment to improve the
lives of small-scale farmers it buys crops from.Contributing to
COMACOs mission and helping it achieve excellence in product
quality and food safety are leading private sector (General Mills)
and academic (Comell University) partners that provide on-going
technical support to the It's Wild!brand. In 2012 and as part of an
effort to scale up its impact on small farmers and
conservation,COMACO initiated signicant improvements in the
consolidation of processing facilities at its two major processing
centres in Serenje and Chipata.Each are strategically located to
allow efficient supply flows from small-scale farmers in Luangwa
Valley's western and eastem regions,respectively,and to route
product sales and distribution to market centres throughout
Zambia.This initiative will enable COMACO to more efficiently
collect and process ricefrom an extensive production area capable
of producing over 3000 tons of rainfed paddy rice with by-products
that could contribute to a range of additional value-added
products,including cereals and animal feeds.Similar opportunities
exist for soybeans,beans,groundnuts and honey.The centralized
processing facility in the east,for example,will enable COMACO to
become one of the region's largest manufacturers of groundnut
products in an area known throughout Africa as a top
groundnut-producing area. 17/38
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.COMACO Strategic Plan for 2014201820Strategic aimKey milestones
COMACO aims to achieve under its 2014-18 Strategic Plan by the end
of 20l8 are l)year-to-year food security for not less than l30,000
of its l60,000 small-scale farming family base,2) annual incomes of
not less than $350 (or about $500-$600 if direct benefits are
monetized,representing approximately a 3-fold increase in annual
incomes) for not less than 67,000 of these families,3) economic
sustainability for both the It's Wild!business and COMACO's fanner
support services,and 4) increased capacity to effectively monitor
the separation of business accounts and farmer support accounts to
demonstrate targets and tirnelines for achieving sustainability by
geographic regions.To achieve these milestones.the business will
play a critical role in incentivizing production and behavioral
change to adopt better farming practices and compliance to
conservation as well as tracking allrelevant nancial accounting
information to adequately analyze sustainability and cost-
efficiencies. An important part of the strategic plan is to raise
the necessary investments to enable the company to have the
commercial strengths to help COMACO reach these milestones.Key
investments include 1) improved processing equipment for increasing
automation and volumes,2) establishment of new product lines to
increase gross margins derived om by- products of existing product
processing (cracked rice,maize bran,rice bran,wax,etc. ), 3) more
cost-efficient storage and handling of raw materials from community
warehouses to COMACO's major Warehouse centers,4) certification and
compliance to international food safety and quality standards for
advancing export opportunities,5) conversion of biowastes into
renewable energy for reduced costs in processing selected products
that require drying and roasting,6) improved accounting systems and
controls for clear separation of costs by funding source,and 7)
increased financial analytical capacity to assess sustainability
progress. Product sales vs.commodity salesWhile the proposed
strategic plan will target efforts to make It's Wild. brand of
natural,healthy food products one of the leading and most popular
food brands in the region,the plan also recognizes that farm
production from its current and growing farmer membership of 87,000
farmers will outpace COMACOs limits for manufacturing It's Wild.
products or meeting sales orders.This imbalance is largely a
problem of constrained production capacity and not demand for
product.To address this problem,the company has tasked itself to
raise investments for improved manufacturing equipment and for
meeting international food safety compliance.To ensure the balance
of farm surplus retums a reasonable market value for fanner
producers,COMACO will establish a parallel commodity trading
business to absorb a large portion of farm commodities as it
scales-up its value-added processing. This combined marketing
approach under the proposed strategic plan will incrementally
reduce the relative proportion of COMACO's reliance on commodity
trading markets as increased investments in value-added processing
improve the volume of / In Wild. sales.COMACO believes this
strategy is possible based on conrmed orders and expressions of
interest to have its products exported to South Africa and other
regional countries once delivered volumes are assured.These volumes
are in the order of 5 to 10 times the production capacity the
company currently has.Both Shoprite and Massmart (Wa|
mart-owned),for example,have initiated serious conversations with
COMACO to plan for the introduction of It's Wild. products into
their respective stores in South Africa by 2015.21During this
transition period,COMACO will also significantly improve its
overall operational efficiencies (more costeffective supply
chains,reduced shrinkage,more total utilization of commodities by
weight,etc. ) to reach gross margins of about 45%,while gross
margins from18/38
19. 13.5.2015 COMACO Strategic Plan for 2014-2018commodity
trading will likely not exceed 10%.With these higher margins and
increased volumes of product sales relative to commodity
trades,COMACO's targets of increasing family incomes and
incentivizing conservation on an ecosystem-scale can more likely be
achieved. COMACO business strategy for achieving farmer compliance
and sustainabilityCOMACO recognizes that it cannot absorb the
entire market expectations of its growing farmer base,which it
expects to reach l60,000 by 2018. For the COMACO model to
work,however,it must contribute signicantly in some way to a
portion of a family's income and for a signicant part of the
small-scale farmer population with conditions of farming
compliance. It does this through crop purchases at prices that
incentivizes compliance.Doing it alone requires raising its own
working capital,typically through short-tenn debt loans,which
increases risks and demands on the company. While accessing such
loans will be an important part of COMACO's business strategy,other
strategies also exist.One way will be through increased
partnerships with partner companies that manufacture food products
or purchase commodities and willing to embrace the COMACO
model.These opportunities are becoming more possible as the COMACO
mission is better understood and appreciated.By facilitating access
to its own farmer base,COMACO has been able to negotiate an
interest by such partners in supporting COMACOs mission and has
already formalized such a relationship with Cargill for soybeans
and is negotiating a potentially important relationship with the
Zambian FRA for the purchase ofrice.Building these relationships
will be an important part of COMACO's 5-year strategic plan. The
formation of strong partnerships with large trading houses will
also act as a strong deterrent to unscrupulous informal traders
moving into COMACO areas to offer below market prices to vulnerable
farmers,especially in more remote areas.As part of its commodity
trading strategy and as it builds up its value-added processing
capacity,COMACO will work on extremely tight margins to ensure that
farmers are paid a fair price for their crops at the same time
offering competitive price to trading houses. In achieving the
proposed benchmarks of farmer numbers and conservation
compliance,COMACO's strategic plan will call for a significant
level of finance For short-tenn,crop purchasing working capital and
longer-terrn capital nancing loans.Raising this finance will be a
high priority for the company in 2014 to initiate needed capital
improvements and to begin moving sales volumes to required levels
to complement donor support of its farmer extension services and by
20] 8 to sustain both business and fanner support costs.Business
forecasts under various investment scenarios can achieve this end
result. Action plan:How COMACO will achieve its strategic planWhile
entirely separate in terms of job functions and budget
accountability,COMACOs two sections:the farmer support services and
the business company,are interlinked in ways that give COMACO a
competitive edge for mobilizing farm production into value-added
products. 22Page 24Their relationship is based on 1) farmer support
services,which help farmers grow food crops with
high-yielding,environmentally safe farming practices and store
their surplus in local warehouses called depots,and 2) the COMACO
business that buys the surplus for converting into It's Wild.
products or selling directly on the commodity markets.The process
used for achieving this result is illustrated in Figure 1.Figure l.
The COMACO implementation process.Through its farmer support
services,farmer members produce,bulk,and sell farm commodities to
COMACOs business operations at the Farm Gate.If commodities are
produced using the preferred farming practice and oonservation
guidelines are followed,farmers receive conservation incentives
sustained from company sales. http: //webcache. goog| eusercontent.
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20. 13.5.2015 COMACO Strategic Plan for 2014-2018- Lead farmer
training:mobile schools - Consolidation of product processing
(Chipata,- Producer group training:Better Life Serenje) B001.Fan
Talk radii) Pmgram - Full use of by-products into value-added -
Producer Group Cooperative training Products - Community depot
renovations as - Outsourcing trucks,seasonal workforce Vim-l10U5
Centres - Increased warehouse storage - Field days,demonstrzition
plots - Batch processing and shrinkage controls - Seed
growers,recoveries.storage - Automated and scale-up processing
equipment - District advisory committees - Increased market
penetration and supporting conservation compliance diversification-
Farm input shopsEnhancing this approach will be a major part
ofCOMACOs strategic plan and will require top-level management to
manage risks effectively,follow agreed budgets,stay focused on the
mission,and keep partners engaged and supportive of the model.As
summarized in Annex 2, COMACOs organization structure provides
clear separation between the two sections but enables operational
cross-overs to enhance the brand message,supply chain
efficiencies,and the overall sustainability of both sections.The
organization also provides the needed level ofdecentralization to
adapt farmer extension training to prevailing conditions for a
given region. Working within this organizational structure,the
proposed strategic plan will continue to develop the COMACO model
in Zambia by focusing on three main areas of activities:1)Luangwa
Valley consolidation,2) partnership relationships for strengthening
and possible extension ofthe model,and 3) market growth
opportunities.A description of each is summarized below. 23Page
25Luangwa Valley consolidation 1) Farmer support servicesThe
consolidation process will extend farmer support activities to
three new sub-regions:l) Mpika,2) Mpundu (Chinsali/ Chama
Districts),and 3) Chisoino/ Sandwe (Petauke/ Serenje
Districts).This program extension will complete COMACOs coverage
around Luangwa Va|1eys major protected areas (see Annex 3).Each
will have supply chain linkages to one ofCOMACOs product processing
centres in Chipata or Serenje.From these two centres,logistics for
coordinating community bulking of crops at community depots,crop
purchasingfrom these depots,and trans-shipment to processing or
major warehouse centres will be directed for the entire COMACO
operational area. The consolidation process will intensify farmer
recruitment and training support and use of market incentives to
promote farmer commitment to agreed conservation pledgesis,which
include adopting climate smart,low tillage farming methods and
abandoning practices destructive to land and natural resources.Lead
fanners and senior lead farmers will shoulder much of this work and
will have sufficient support to remain active year round with
regularsupervision by area managers and producer group leaders.A
rigorous system of independent monitoring of lead fanner
performance will provide a simultaneous way to also assess
theirimmediate supervisors and will enable regional managers to
make management corrections and stay on track with agreed targets.
Through increased reliance on better trained and supervised lead
farmers,continued use of the Better Life Book and the COMACO Farm
Talk radio programmeie,and greater collaboration of NGO
partners,COMACO will intensify its promotion of selected life
skills designed to promote such outcomes as food security,income
diversication,improved soil management,climate resilience,family
health and nutrition,fuel wood production,energy conservation
technologies,and reducing post-harvest losses.This will include
efforts to increase female lead farmers to 35% of the lead farmer
work force to build greater leadership roles and opportunities for
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21. 13.5.2015 COMACO Strategic Plan for 20142018Recruitment of
new farmers will extend COMACO farmer membership by a minimum of
73,000 new recruits (possibly up to 80,000) on top of the existing
61,279 COMACO hasrecruited and trained under RNE Phase ll
project.The total number of COMACO farm members by the end of 2018,
including those recruited under a separate USAID project (26,000+)
will reach 160,000 (note,the USAID support will end in 2015) From
this number and through the COMACO system of moving farm
commodities into local warehouses for sell to COMACO (or other
private sector companies),the COMACO business Wlll drive its
business around value-added food products or potential commodity
trades on the openmarketI:A requirement of farmer membership is
COMACO is to sign a conservation comiiiiunent pledges that lists
the basic farming practices a farmer will adopt and the
dcstructivcs practices of resources use the farmer will abandonIA
COMACO uses a coinpilzition of learning pages.called the Better
Life Book,to guide key skills taught by lead farmers and group
leaders and the COMACO F arm Talk is a y eekly educational radio
broadcast presented twice weekly which allows informative
discussions from farmers themselves on what they are learning and
benelitiing from COMACO while allowing other guest speakers
(Chiefs.(ioverrunent officials.and extension specialists) to offer
further guidance and inspiration24Page 25(see Annex 5a. b for
projected sales based on estimated crop surplus and business
investment scenarios). 2) Appropriate technologies for climate
smart agriculture and reduced conict with renewable resourcesCOMACO
has had a longstanding commitment to testing and pioneering
technologies that reduce farm labour costs.reduce risks to climate
uncertainty,increase food yields and income options,reduce wasteil
uses ofnatural resources,and improve efficiencies in energy
use.While most are simply skills and practices with low cost
inputs,they can result in large economic and livelihood gains for
small-scale farmers if practiced correctly. Through its commitment
to introduce these technologies,COMACO has helped establish local
farmer schools,previously referred to as producer groups,with
increasingly well-trained lead farmers as instructors and with
improvcd focus on womcnbascd activities for growing food and
diversifying income (e. g. garden crops,poultry husbandry,mushroom
drying,etc).It has also recently launched COMACO Farm Talk radio
program and has maintained production of its Better Life Book
manual with frequently added new Learning Pages From these
efforts,COMACO will provide increased access to appropriate
technologies and instructions on how to apply them for transforming
lives from poverty to a life with greater food and income securitv.
Key examples of technologies COMACO will promote under its proposed
strategic plan include the following: - Agroforestry with a focus
on Gliricidia sepium.This medium size tree species grows rapidly,is
non-invasive,owers within 8 months,produces large seed sets,and
hasmany practical uses.Primary benefits include 30% nitrogen
content in its leaves for excellent enrichment ofmulch or
compost,and roots release a range of nutrients when the tree is
coppiced prior to planting crops.Secondary benefits include:leaves
are insect repellents,fungicides,and bactericides,trees produce
large renewable sources of firewood from stems coppiced at the time
of planting crops,can be grown from stem cuttings into fence rows
or field borders,cattle and sheep do not disturb the plant because
ofhigh tannins,and owers support the production of high quality
honey.Growing Gliricidia sepium,as being promoted by COMACO,will
also contribute to significant reduction in CO2 emissions that
COMACO will convert to carbon market value for farmers. - Range of
farming practices including composting,mulching,crop rotation,and
alley- cropping- Continued refinement of its practices that a adapt
to an area's specic ecological zones while taking advantage of what
other partners are learning and can recommend (note: COMACO does
not discourage or prevent farmers from using agro-chemicals,it
realizes that most small-scale farmers cannot afford them and thus
offers alternative ways to manage soils and pests to achieve
desired yields.By doing so,it creates an important opportunity to
study and assess the relative trade-offs for small farmers to farm
using both methods )- Improved seed storage and seed selection for
protecting next year's seed stock fromhttp:
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22. 13.5.2015 COMACO Strategic Plan for 20142018-
SiPri)13Sl'hv; i/1yesSid(iirii: )1S'ove chicken survivorship and
production,bee apiary management,soil and fallow field
management,and granary management. 25Page 27- Alternative food
crops and planting techniques- Live fencing techniques to reduce
risks of livestock consuming ground litter and mulch - Woodlot and
dry season garden management- Improved fuel wood use and
production- Well-making and vegetable growing with simple
irrigation techniques3) Producer group cooperatives,traditional
leaders,and community conservation plansThe consolidation process
will strengthen the capacity of Producer Group Cooperatives and
their relationship with traditional leaders,Community Resources
Boards,and local government authorities to establish- functioning
trading depots that serve as commodity warehouses and community
marketing centres with farm input shops, - contract buying
agreements with COMACO,public awareness campaigns in the community
to uphold conservation pledges with COMACO, - local training
programs for transforming people away from poaching and charcoal-
making livelihoods, - oversight and local supervision of lead
fanners with structured reporting guidelines, - increased
collaboration with traditional leaders on the creation of community
regulated land use zones defined under a community conservation
plan,and- traditional leader support to convene meetings in support
of community conservation plans. COMACO will undertake an active
plan to work with traditional leaders to build their capacity and
interest in championing conservation outcomes in their respective
areas. Selected chiefs with proven commitment and track-record will
engage other chiefs through exchange visits.COMACO Farm Talk radio
program will feature chiefs to talk about their experiences to
fellowchiefs.Recognition of their achievements at public
meetings,such as the creation of community conservation areas and
effective management of these areas,will be part of these efforts.
4) Advisory management committees and incentive paymentsRecently
created COMACO/ community advisory management committees chaired by
District Commissioners for districts where COMACO operates will
convene twice annually to increase transparency by both the
community and COMACO in meeting their respective
commitments.District heads of government departments,such as
ZAWA,Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock,and the Forestry
Department,together with chiefs representatives,Producer Group
Cooperative leaders,Community Resource Board representatives,and
other participating non-government partners,will take an active
role in these committees.The intention of these committees will be
to engage key stakeholders in the success of COMACO and to use
their inuence where appropriate to strengthen activities on the
ground. Additionally,COMACO will support joint monitoring by
relevant govemment departments to increase the level of objectivity
in assessing conservation compliance by participating communities
and the general impact of COMACO itself.For example,the Zambia
Wildlife Authority will assist with monitoring illegal wildlife use
and wildlife numbers.This review process will qualify communities
for market premium prices and potential conservation26Page
28dividend payments.Alternatively,if this review finds communities
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23. 13.5.2015 COMACO Strategic Plan for 20142013 aasswense
dgaiaeatiaasiattbetiaarbptrsslcueearniaeeedity prices will be
considered- AnnexThrough this district-level collaboration and
lessons derived from this experience on ways to help COMACO work
more effectively and with greater stakeholder
involvement,provincial- level meetings,referred to as roundtable
meetings,will provide a collective forum for the different district
players to share their experiences and build increased government
buy-in to the COMACO model.These roundtable meetings,chaired by the
provincial pennanent secretary,will convene twice annually and will
work toward increased accountability of district-level achievements
in land use planning,community development and natural resoLLrce
conservation. 5) Gender-focused,family health-related
activitiesCOMACO will engage a gender/ livelihood specialist in
each of the two main regions of the Luangwa Valley (East and West)
to actively plan,supervise,and evaluate activities that will
contribute to skills and knowledge for enhancing gender-based
opportunities.This work will be linked to continued development of
the Better Life Book and increased exposure to personal
achievements over the COMACO Farm Talk radio show and will also
link with on- going work by partners (CARE,Catholic Relief
Services) who are more skilled and experienced in specific
gender-related issues,including nutrition,family health,HIV
avmrencss and prevention,family budgeting.and family planning.Key
indicators will track progress in these gender-specic areas of
interest against a baseline analysis. 6) COMACO research and
information sharing to assist small-scale farmersThis initiative
will enable COMACO staff to contribute their wide and diverse range
ofexperiences to a growing body of knowledge for how to enhance
smallscale farming and engage farmers and their communities as
active,better stewards of their land.The process will involve
regular staff meetings,collaboration with external technical
partners,increased staff feedback and synthesis of results from
COMACOs Monitoring and EvaluationDepartment and regular
dissemination of results by way of COMACO Farm Talk to over l
,000,000 radio listeners and regular publication of COMACO Impact
Reports through its quarterly newsletter. Increased partner
rolesThe proposed strategic plan will broaden stakeholder awareness
about COMACO and will support varied partnership arrangements to
support COMACO's on-g