For the past 18 years, Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) has been leading the way in conversation across Zambia. “COMACO originally formed to provide economic opportunities for poachers in the area so they didn’t have to rely on poaching for an income,” said COMACO CEO Dale Lewis. “We now engage small-scale farmers, most with one to two acres of farmland, who care for the soil and environment.” Dale approaches his business by seeing what farmers are producing in the local community and working with them to add value to their crops. COMACO originally started with rice because it was a crop that was being grown in the communities where wildlife lived. Since then, COMACO has added several legume products to their portfolio not only because they’re popular in the community and healthy, they also help bring valuable nutrients back to the soil.

Most recently, Dale noticed that farmers in his community were sitting on crates and crates of tomatoes and the idea of producing ketchup occurred to him. “During the dry season women produce a lot of tomatoes,” said Dale. “I instantly saw an opportunity to help them make more money by adding value to their tomatoes and processing them into organic ketchup.” Despite having little knowledge in tomato processing, Dale knew this would bring a lot of needed opportunity to the area so he reached out to PFS and their volunteer network for advice.

PFS engaged Kurt Villwock, a principal scientist at General Mills with tomato processing experience, to help with the request. “I was first introduced to PFS by my leadership team at General Mills who realized I may be a good match to help solve a problem,” said Kurt. “I’ve worked in the food and beverage industry for over 20 years and have a PhD in Food Science. I wanted to use my skills and expertise to help others.” In order to start processing tomatoes at their new facility in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, COMACO needed advice on what the processing would look like, estimate cost for small-scale production, and equipment recommendations. After a few one-hour calls and robust discussion, COMACO received a detailed guidance document from Kurt that would help them get started with a small-scale organic tomato processing plant.

“This is some of the clearest and most helpful instructions on food processing we’ve had yet,” said Dale. “We had received a quote from an equipment vendor and Kurt pointed out that the processing line we were looking at would not be able to retain the color of the ketchup or provide a usable by-product.” Utilizing the guidance document, COMACO is working with local equipment vendors to source appropriate equipment for their future plant. Additionally, Dale is working on raising the necessary capital to help COMACO achieve their vision of opening the new tomato processing plant. “We wish we could have Kurt here in Zambia helping us make COMACO the next General Mills in Africa,” said Dale. “We had a vision of being a brand for Africa and General Mills and PFS have helped make that possible.”

In September 2021, COMACO was awarded a $600,000 grant from the Enterprise Challenge Fund to finance a tomato production plant that will provide additional income to more than 20,000 farmers in Zambia.

PFS: What was your main motivation for joining the PFS mentorship program?

AM: In my sales career I have learned a ton about relationship building and customer management. I wanted to find a way to use those skills to make a direct and positive impact outside of the US. The goal of empowering people to create sustainable economic growth really stuck out to me.

PFS: What has been your favorite part of the mentorship?

AM: My favorite part of my mentorship with Gordon has been getting to know him and hearing his perspective on the world. I truly feel like I have gotten more out of the relationship than he has. From a business perspective, I really enjoyed working with Gordon to think through the way he approaches his client relationships. Being a results oriented salesperson, it feels good to hear that Gordon was able to break through with his clients by applying a new tactic we talked about.

PFS: Have you learned anything new through your mentorship?

AM: I personally feel the mentorship program has given me the opportunity to build and develop my coaching muscles in a way I wouldn’t have been able to in my current role. This experience has helped me think through how I approach situations with my employees and business partners.

PFS: What would you say to someone who is interested in mentoring, but hesitant to start?

AM: I came into the program with some doubt that I could truly make an impact. Wow, was I wrong! Everyone at PFS is very understanding that volunteering isn’t your primary job and is incredibly appreciative of anything you can give. I am so grateful that this opportunity has truly given me a new friend and I hope to travel to Ghana one day and meet Gordon in person.

According to the World Health Organization, the number of malnourished individuals in Africa increased from 181 million in 2010 to 222 million in 2016. Undernutrition continues to affect a large portion of the population, especially children. In order to improve nutrition, the Strengthening African Processors of Fortified Food (SAPFF) program, a partnership between international development nonprofit TechnoServe, Partners in Food Solutions, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, provides customized technical assistance to companies with currently low food fortification compliance levels.

Through PFS, General Mill’s Medallion Labs has provided invaluable support and service to the SAPFF program. In addition to Medallion Labs staff serving clients in a volunteer capacity at times, a business relationship has also developed.“The total amount of revenue Medallion Labs has brought in from PFS clients and program partners since Oct. 2018 is $156,933“ according to PFS Director of Service Innovation and Impact Magdalene Mbaga. “Medallions Labs has demonstrated flexibility and superb customer service to our larger-scale milling and oil processing clients in Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria,” she said.

Over the past four years of the program, market-level fortification compliance levels have improved from an average of 54% compliance to 77%. SAPFF now engages with more than 75 companies to assure the quality of 164 different staple food products.

SAPFF intend to continue working with Medallion Labs over the coming year as they design the next stage of the program.

Graceco Foods Limited, a food processing and manufacturing company in Nigeria, was experiencing some shelf-life challenges when they noticed mold growing on their cupcakes within four weeks of production. Graceco quickly realized they needed to strengthen their industrial production knowledge to ensure that gaps in their technical knowledge were reduced significantly. To help bridge these gaps, PFS connected Graceco with General Mills QRO Engineer Linda Olson.

Adedayo Oshinnaiye, Graceco’s executive director of operations and supply chain, said working with PFS has been a game changer. “We’ve been able to identify the root cause of our shelf-life issues and have achieved better results since then,” he said. As the project nears completion, Graceco has already begun implementing volunteer recommendations such as using more advanced cleaning procedures and ensuring the cupcakes are stored at adequate temperatures throughout production. “The ability to share knowledge and learn from volunteers like Linda as well as the PFS program managers has been the best part about this program.”

Located in Lusaka, Zambia, Forest Fruits is one of the leading producers of organic honey and beeswax in Zambia. Committed to improving the livelihoods of farmers, Forest Fruits sources honey from over 7000 traditional beekeepers near the Zambezi River that utilize sustainable farming practices. Forest Fruits’ main product is not pasteurized and therefore maintains the healthy bioflavonoids, enzymes and other nutritional elements. To further improve the quality of their products, Forest Fruits looked to become HACCP certified. “Being HACCP certified would add great value to our product,” said Christian Nawej Kabongo, general manager of Forest Fruits. “The certification provides the safety that every consumer would like to be assured of.”

Forest Fruits had challenges passing their previous HACCP audit due to lack of in-house expertise and poor adoption of HACCP requirements into their operations. In order to achieve their goal of becoming HACCP certified, Forest Fruits worked with General Mills volunteers Tomomi Fujimaru and Natalia Faiden. “Volunteering at PFS provides the perfect combination of taking advantage of the resources and knowledge that we have at General Mills to support and develop the food industry where it is needed, and getting to know other cultures and learn from them,” said Natalia. “It’s also a great vehicle for growing the food industry by partnering with great leaders amongst the industry.”

When Tomomi and Natalia started the project, Forest Fruit’s HACCP program was far from being audit and certification ready. Tomomi said, “Natalia and I reviewed their program in detail, asked many questions and provided candid feedback that would help them achieve their goal of obtaining a certification.” Not being able to see the process and the products in person did pose additional challenges, but through the team’s commitment Forest Fruits was able to address their challenges and improve their system.

“Without a doubt, my favorite part of this project was seeing Forest Fruit’s transformation and them receiving the certification seals at the end of the project,” said Natalia. “Forest Fruits’ willingness to learn and their positive attitude was a huge part of this success.”

Today, Forest Fruits has a team of food safety processors who are now fully qualified to handle food processing. “This was not an easy journey for us, but it was worth it,” said Christian. “The external auditor was very impressed with the work done and the readiness of our team. We’re thankful for the volunteers who helped us prepare for the audit and we share this achievement with you!”