From the Data Room ….

Key to COMACO’s success as an enduring model for conservation and rural development is its capacity to learn from its successes and mistakes. WCS staff, working with Cornell and
Berkeley
Universities, as well as other local partners, undertake this work and report on new and interesting results ‘from the data room, managed by
Kabila Makando with a team of regional data offices at each trading centre. In this issue, we present:

ID Cards Issued to COMACO Members

In early June this year, WCS will issue identification membership cards for all COMACO Registered Producer Group Members, totalling over 20,000, who represent actively participating producers compliant with COMACO guidelines. The ID cards will enable each member to easily trade at COMACO trading depots, be eligible for premium prices and have access to useful tools and implements at discount prices.

With regard to information management, the card will enable COMACO to identify each individual and to manage producer group data more effectively. When conducting various data surveys, the cards will help ensure WCS collects information from the correct person identified in a statistical sample. Considering the various transactions that occur at our depots, the IDs will also facilitate smoother transactions and also link each transaction to a particular individual in the COMACO main database.

As COMACO continues to sustain improved livelihood benefits for a growing number of farmers, non-members will see the need to join and obtain their own membership card. Provided below are some statistics on the current status of producer group members in the COMACO program.

Producer Group Survey

In the last quarter of 2007, WCS undertook a program-wide exercise to verify the COMACO membership and compliance at both group and membership level. The exercise involved all extension staff and assigned to oversee activities in a particular area.

Results from the survey revealed current active members were slightly under 21000. Another survey undertaken examined the percentage of COMACO members relative to total households in the community. The tables below summarize these results:

Numbers of COMACO members by chiefdom and farming activities On average, COMACO members represent about 30% of the total population in most communities where the program operates. From the findings, about 14% of the farmers were discovered as to have been engaged in more than one activity supported by COMACO. Each farmer group contains an average of 11 members. The producer group survey was a large undertaking and lasted 6 weeks, but has helped WCS determine the effectiveness of the COMACO programme in terms of outreach to various communities. One result from the survey was the level of compliance among farmers introduced to the program. Since COMACO’s inception, it had registered many individuals as members, but through the survey, WCS was able to determine how many were still active. This gave as a clearer picture on the effectiveness of the programme and to identify areas where the program needs to focus more effort.

Table 1: Members in various rural communities