How Can Multifunctional Agriculture Support a Transition to a Green Economy in Africa? Lessons from the COMACO Model in Zambia

Orleans Mfune, Moses Ngongo Chisola and Ignitius Ziba
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Orleans Mfune: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, The University of Zambia, P. O. Box 32379, Lusaka 10101, Zambia
Moses Ngongo Chisola: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, The University of Zambia, P. O. Box 32379, Lusaka 10101, Zambia
Ignitius Ziba: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, The University of Zambia, P. O. Box 32379, Lusaka 10101, Zambia

Agriculture, 2016, vol. 6, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: This paper examines the link between the green economy and multifunctional agriculture. In particular, the paper uses the case of the Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) initiative, an agro-based enterprise promoting a multifunctional agriculture model in Eastern Zambia, to examine how the potential of smallholder farmers can be harnessed to support a transition towards the green economy. The empirical data on which the paper is based were collected through questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews conducted with farmers and other actors in the agricultural sector. The results of the study show that a number of elements underpinning the COMACO model including sustainable land management practices, conservation outreach, community markets, value addition, and conservation dividends have great potential to deliver benefits related to the green economy. However, to truly foster a transition towards a green economy, a number of constraints need to be overcome. These include lack of a supportive policy and institutional framework, technological backwardness, and lack of consumer awareness of environmental information instruments such as eco-labelling.

Keywords: multifunctional agriculture; green economy; smallholder farmers; agro-based enterprise; community markets (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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