THE Government will continue to give priority to agriculture as the engine of economic development, Central Province Minister Ackimson Banda has said.

Officiating at the Central Province agricultural and commercial show in Kabwe at the weekend, Mr Banda said that the Government attached great importance to agriculture and commerce and as such, it had put in place policies and programmes that would help boost the sector.

He noted that the Government, through the Food Reserve Agency (FRA), would buy 11,492.5 tonnes of maize from disadvantaged small-scale farmers in Central Province during the 2009-10 marketing season running from June 1 to September 30.

The minister advised Government officers to be on the look-out to ensure that the marketing agents were not obtaining money from farmers by false pretences.

"In addition, farmers should sell clean maize to marketing agents and also avoid unscrupulous buyers," Mr Banda said.

He said that the Government was also committed to the liberalisation of agricultural markets and would, therefore, like to see increased participation in the sale of farming inputs and marketing of agricultural produce.

He said that this year's theme 'Challenge of Change' was in conformity with the overall goal of the Ministry of Agriculture in promoting increased and sustainable agricultural productivity in order to ensure food security, improved nutrition, income generation, employment opportunities and reduction in poverty levels.

"It is also a theme that is appropriately given the current global economic meltdown which has affected our country too.

"The economic shifts call for changes in farmer's mindset to strictly treat farming as a business venture in that it assures a more sustainable and improved living standards of the people at household level," Mr Banda said.

He stressed that shows were important as they provided a platform for farmers to interact and exchange vital technology and information regarding the agricultural sector.

The minister reiterated that the Government would continue to assist small-scale farmers through the Fertiliser Support Programme.

Central Province agricultural show society chairperson Jack Chilufya said the province expected to produce more than 400,000 tonnes of maize under the 2008-09 farming season and more wheat, soya beans and cow peas would also be produced.

Mr Chilufya appealed to the Government to put in place suitable policies to enable sustainability of agriculture and commerce-based companies such as the defunct Zambia-China Mulungushi Textiles.

"We are urging the Government to disseminate more information on the Citizens Economic Empowerment Fund so that farmers could access it for irrigation projects so that the province can continue to produce more food for the country and the world at large," Mr Chilufya said.

He advised the Government to plan properly so that the province could increase food exports to other countries.