1. 1. 13.5.2015 COMACO Strategic Plan for 2014-2018Dette er html-versjonen av len mtg: /IitswiId. om/ downloadlfactsheeislstrategic%2OPlan 2014-2018.gdf.G o o g I e lager html-versjoner av dokumenter automatisk nar vi saker gjennom nelfsider.Page 1COMMUNITY MARKETS FOR CONSERVATIONCOMACO Strategic Plan for 2014-2018Building links to last:small farmers,markets,conservation,and partners19 January 2013Page 2 http: //webcachegoogleuserconlentcom/ search? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJ: if. swild. org/ download/ factsheets/ Strategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. .. 1/38
2. 2. 13.5.2015Page 3http: //webcachegoogleusercontent. comIsearch? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJzitswildorgldownlcad/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. . .COMACO Strategic Plan for 20142018ContentsExecutive summary . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .....2 Vision . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .....9 What the Strategic Plan hopes to achieve . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. . . 9 Background . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .....9 SWOT Analysis . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . . . 10 Context . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...... 11 Mission . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . . . 13 Statement of Problem . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . . . 14 Approach . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. . . 15 Goals . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. . . 16Objectives. . . . . .16 Goal 1: Consolidate best practices across the Luangwa Valley landscape. . .. I6Goal 2: Increase partner roles for strengthening and replicating the model across newlandscapes in Zambia . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. . . 18 Goal 3: Achieve economic sustainability through commercial growth opportunities ..20 Action plan:How COMACO will achieve its strategic plan . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .....22 Luangwa Valley consolidation . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . . . 24 Increased partner roles . . . ...... .......27 Commercial growth opportunities... ... . . . 29 COMACO leadership and organizational structure.. 32 COMACOs sustainability forecast .32 Budget35 Summary. .. . ... ... ... ... .. . .. ..38 Annex 1. Map of current COMACO operational areas (white) . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .....39 Annex 2. Organizational staff structure of COMACO . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .....40 Annex 3. Map showing major gaps in the COMACO coverage around the Luangwa Valleyfor targeted activities over the next ve years . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. . . 41Annex 4. Organization structure the COMACO/ community advisory managementcommittees... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. . . 42 Annex 5a.Conservative projection model . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . . . 34Annex 5b.Aggressive projection model . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . . . 36Executive summaryIntroductionSince 2003, Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) has operated across much of Zambias Luangwa Valley,enhancing the wellbeing of small-scale farmers with agricultural inputs,improved farming skills,and increased access to markets.Today,89,102 farmers are registered COMACO members.With the skills learned and market incentives they receive, many are contributing to improved land management across this 77,000 km2 landscape.They plant over 10 million trees annually,use almost 10,000 bee hives,and receive over $1.2 million annually in cash payments for their crops from COMACO as well as year-roundextension support. 2/38
3. 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: //webcachegoogleusercontent. comIsearch? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJ: itswild. orgIdown| cad/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. . . 3/38
4. 4. 13.5.2015Page 5http: //webcachegoogleusercontent. comIsearch? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJzitswildorgldownlcad/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. . .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. 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 investors. http: //webcachegoogleusercontent. comIsearch? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJzitswildorgldownlcad/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. . . 5/38
6. 6. 13.5.2015Page 7Page 8http: //webcachegoogleusercontent. comIsearch? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJzitswildorgldownlcad/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. . .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
7. 7. 13.5.2015Page 9http: //webcachegoogleusercoriteritcom/ search? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJ : itswi| d.orgIdown| oad/ factsheets/ Strategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&hI .. . 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
8. 8. 13.5.2015Page 10http: //webcachegoogleuserconteritcom/ search? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJ : itswildorgldownload/ factsheets/ Strategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&hI .. . COMACO 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. 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 10http: //webcachegoogleusercontent. comIsearch? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJzitswildorgldownlcad/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. . . 9/38
10. 10. 13.5.2015Page 12Page 13http: //webcachegoogleuserconteritcom/ search? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJ : itswi| d.orgIdown| oad/ factsheets/ Strategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&hI .. . COMACO Strategic Plan for 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. 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: //webcachegoogleusercontent. comIsearch? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJzitswildorgldownlcad/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. . . 1 1/38
12. 12. 13.5.2015Page 15http: //webcachegoogleusercontent. comIsearch? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJzitswildorgldownlcad/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. . .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. 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: //webcachegoogleusercontent. comIsearch? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJ: itswild. orgIdown| cad/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. . . 13/38
14. 14. 13.5.2015Page 17Page 18http: //webcache. goog| eusercontentcom/ search? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJzitswildorgldownload/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdt+&cd=1&h|. . .COMACO Strategic Plan for 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. 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: //webcachegoogleusercontent. comIsearch? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJzitswildorgldownlcad/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. . . 15/38
16. 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. googIeuserconteritcom/ search? q=cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJ: itswi| d.orgIdown| oad/ factsheets/ Strategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&hI. .. 16/38
17. 17. 13.5.2015Page 21http: //webcachegoogleusercontent. comIsearch? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJzitswildorgldownload/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. . .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
18. 18. 13.5.2015Page 22Page 23http: //webcachegoogleusercontent. comIsearch? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJzitswildorgldownlcad/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. . .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. 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. comIsearch? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJzitswildorgldownload/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. . . 19/38
20. 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 women in the community. http: //webcachegoogleusercontentcom/ search? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJzitswildorgldownload/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. . . 20/38
21. 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: //webcachegoogleuserconteritcom/ search? q=cache: fdLKN3kOrxgJ: itswi| d.orgIdown| oad/ factsheets/ Strategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&hI. .. 21/38
22. 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 have violated compliancehttp: //webcachegoogleusercontent. comIsearch? q= cache: fdLKW3kOrxgJ: itswild. orgIdown| oad/ factsheetslstrategic%2520P| an_20142018.pdf+&cd=1&h|. . . 22/38
23. 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