COMACO aiding wildlife conservation, as poachers turn beekeepers; 20,000 farmers to benefit from scheme

The Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) targets to distribute more than 70,000 hives to about 20,000 farmers in the next three years.

This is aimed at improving rural household nutrition and income.

Janet Zulu, COMACO Production Supervisor, Nyimba branch, said about 20,000 farmers in the next three years would be trained in beekeeping and honey hunting.

Zulu said that they had worked with more than seven thousand farmers in the Luangwa Valley in beekeeping, helping to improve rural household nutrition and income.

She said they had done about 60 tonnes of honey production per annum, which has an output of 78 percent of finished products, which are then distributed across the country.

“We are in all the districts of Eastern Province. We are in Serenje, Mpika, Chinsali, Mumbwa and Itezhi-Tezhi to mention a few. We have people in those centers that buy the products on behalf of COMACO,” Zulu said.

Speaking during a tour of the honey production plant in Nyimba on Wednesday, she that since the beekeeping project started, COMACO had helped to distribute 35,957 hives to registered farmers.

She added that about 67 percent of these hives are occupied with honey production potential of over 200 tonnes per annum.

Zulu explained that over half of all beekeepers who COMACO works with are transformed poachers, who have surrendered their guns and snares, and agreed to adopt a new way of life.

She indicated that beekeeping helps communities to understand how valuable trees are as a source of sustainable income.

Zulu said farmers had been trained in assembling beehives, baiting, harvesting and bulking for market.

“The quality of honey we sell is popular with consumers and returns good value back to the farmer,” she said.

COMACO is a social enterprise that supports wildlife conservation and small scale farmers in Zambia.