THE Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) has appealed to all farmers to stop buying agricultural inputs from unregistered dealers saying their products are not genuine.

ZNFU acting executive director, Ellah Chembe said in Lusaka at the weekend that as they prepared for the farming season, the farmers should buy certified inputs from registered dealers.

Ms Chembe said the seeds from unregistered dealers were costly and caused losses to the farmers because they were not genuine hence reducing the country's national food security.

She said the farmers should buy certified seeds, plant early and adopt the good farming practice that would improve the country's food security.

"May I urge my fellow farmers, as the planting season is upon us, to always buy certified seeds from registered dealers".

"This is one of the many areas we need to improve upon. Besides this, I would like to

encourage farmers to plant early and adopt good farming practices," Ms Chembe said.

The emerging effects of the climate change and global meltdown, if not addressed proactively, could also start reversing the agricultural development gains.

Ms Chembe said the challenges that the agriculture industry faced demanded open dialogue among the Government, farmers and other stakeholders.

As a country, she said, there was need to work together and put in place policies and an environment fertile enough to allow significant development of agriculture, food and hospitality industries.

"The challenges may be many and increasing by the day, but we believe they are not insurmountable. We need to continue working hard in a spirit of open dialogue, reconciliation and cooperation," she said.

Ms Chembe urged the hospitality industry to support the farmers by buying and promoting consumption of local produce like coffee, fruits and vegetables.

She said the 'Buy Zambia' campaign should start with the agriculture sector and could be done by establishing an effective consumer demand for local agricultural produce that farmers would be assured of a good market for their produce.