THIS year's Agriculture and Commercial Show takes place in a year when the country has recorded an unprecedented bumper harvest and could probably be a turning point in Zambia's agricultural sector.

The bumper harvest is an indication that with the right policies and hard work from the farmers more could be achieved and that even with minimal donor support, giant strides can be made in developing this important sector.

For far too long, there has been talk of diversification from being dependant on copper and other minerals to agriculture, tourism and other sectors.

Hopefully, the achievements recorded in the just ended farming season should be treated as the beginning of achieving the diversification programme by expanding and developing the agricultural industry.

This means that apart from increasing crop production, there must also be deliberate policies to promote the agro-processing industry to enhance value addition and help penetrate the export market with products from agro industries.

The private sector must take the lead in this score by first entering in the crop marketing sub-sector that will facilitate buying of crops from farmers to the end users.

Of course, Government will always have a hand in crop marketing but this should just be for strategic reasons such as ensuring that the country is always food secure and helping the vulnerable small farmers.

In the agro-processing sector, millers have to some extent shown the lead by processing grain into various products some of which are being exported.

But it is in this area that a lot effort needs to be done by the private sector because there are abundant opportunities that still remain unexploited.

One of the reasons for this is obviously lack of cheap capital and hopefully the financial institutions will have been convinced that the bumper harvest is a sign that it is worth the risk to put their money in agriculture.

It is, therefore, hoped that farmers, financial institutions, manufacturers and other business persons will use the show in Lusaka to fully explore how they can engage in business partnerships that will move Zambia forward.