COMACO works hard with close to 200,000 smallholder farmers to keep their soils naturally rich with minerals and organic compounds. Soils rich in natural nutrients helped by microbes in the soil produce plants that are able to withstand disease and sustain production better than plants in nutrient-poor soils.

We call this approach to farming, “farming with nature”, which includes such practices as zero tillage, crop residue retention, agroforestry, and crop rotation. As COMACO, we promote these and other nature-based ways for enhancing soil fertility through weekly radio programs broadcast in the local language, a widely disseminated, local language farming skills manual, and local trainers supporting year-round training needs of resident farmers.

By adopting the “farming with Nature” approach, small-scale farmers not only achieve improved yields, but they also lower their farming costs by minimizing or even eliminating the need for harmful chemicals that can find their way into the food chain. More importantly to the consumer, the shift to organic farming reduces risks of cancer and compromised immune systems that farm-based chemicals can sometimes cause. Equally important, as soils become restored with natural systems that perpetually replenish nutrients, farmers can stay put and farm the same plot year after year. In practice, this translates into the reduced need to clear forests for new farmland, and over time, Zambia’s watersheds and wildlife habitat become better protected.

For the farmer, the consumer and the environment, this is why COMACO produces only healthy food products. It sounds so simple and I wish it were! In reality, competing interests persuade farmers to grow certain crops with chemicals that slow down the transformation. Smallholder farmers are also cautious people and are reluctant to make changes and typically want to see a neighbor’s efforts first or to see the results from a small portion of their own before scaling.

The good news, though, is that we have a brand, It’s Wild!, that has a proven track record of giving good economic returns to farmers who commit to “farm with Nature”. We also have a growing number of consumers who trust us enough on delivering our health and conservation impact that they buy our products, not because they are the cheapest, but because they give us the full nutritional benefit straight from healthy soils that we help farmers maintain.