Zambia's Farmers are the Backbone of Zambia, Says President Banda

LUSAKA, Zambia, October 5, 2010 - His Excellency, President Rupiah Banda, will this week be Guest of Honour
at the 105th Zambia National Farmers Union Congress held at Lusaka's
Mulungushi International Conference Centre.

The theme of this year's Annual Congress is 'Productivity,
Competitiveness and Market Development' - all of which the President views as
key to building on the foundations of a stronger more prosperous Zambia.
Bringing together more than 600 delegates from across the agricultural
industry, the event will celebrate the great agricultural successes enjoyed
by Zambia in recent years and will call on farmers, suppliers and government
to work together to ensure a productive and healthy future for Zambia.

President Banda will deliver a speech this Thursday congratulating the
ZNFU's objectives and pledging his government's wholehearted support for the
continued growth and economic development of the farming sector.

Under President Banda's leadership, Zambia secured a record recent
harvest, producing 2.78 million tonnes of maize - a surplus of more than 1
million tonnes. President Banda's Farmer Input Support Programme has
benefitted 534,000 small-scale farmers through the distribution of seed and
fertilizer, also helping to drive down the cost of mealie meal to the benefit
of all Zambians.

President Banda comments: "The Zambian agricultural sector is important
for jobs, generating much needed income and helping in the fight to reduce
poverty. I endorse the theme of the Congress as it closely reflects my
government's policies - to build partnerships with our farmers and all those
involved in the sector, to support an increase in production where we can, to
make us more competitive as a sector and to improve the access to market for
our farmers. They are the backbone of our country."

Issued by: Dickson Jere, SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT, PRESS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS, press at presidentbanda.com