Market Support

COMACO: Bringing the Marketplace to Distant Rural Farmers

Brings it All Together!

Coming Soon: Video about the COMACO IT'S WILD! market concept!

The COMACO model operates through a business that manages inputs and encourages skills to help small-scale farmers grow enough food to fulfill family food security needs while also producing enough surpluses to meet company needs. The business supports a value-chain of processed products and commodity-market opportunities that sustains an increased and reliable financial return for farmers who adopt environmentally safer production practices.  In addition, it rewards them further with a dividend for meeting conservation guidelines.

Locally accessible markets are a major factor in the success of the COMACO business. The beautiful building to the right is one of six different community trading centres associated with 75 community trading depots built and managed by COMACO.  COMACO is able to promote farm stability by also introducing new farming methods and locally viable crop species that reduce the need to practice large-scale slash-and-burn type farming and the constant need to open new land.

Unlike other, less successful programs, COMACO seeks to reinforce existing leadership structures by building collective producer or farmer groups that recognize the relationship between access to trade benefits and compliance with conservation-based production practices. Producer groups provide support to one another and help ensure compliance with conservation practices. With producer groups now stretching over 70% of Luangwa Valley, COMACO is now in a position to truly impact the future of this lovely valley for generations to come!