Samuel Mbewe
Burundian President General Evariste Ndayishimiye has officially opened this year’s 96th Agriculture and Commercial Show with the call for both Zambia and Burundi to harness the vast land potential the two countries are endowed with to produce enough food for the people.
Speaking when he opened this year’s 96th Agriculture and Commercial Show in Lusaka today, Mr Ndayishimiye underscored the need to leverage on the different expertise the show brings together to improve the agriculture sector in the two countries.
He observed that the African Continent is blessed with abundant land which he described as a garden of Eden which needs to be exploited through agriculture to promote food security on the African continent.
President Ndayishimiye also disclosed that Burundi has put a high premium on agriculture by implementing a number of policies to ensure that every citizen plays a part in cultivating the land to feed the people.
He further praised Zambia for the production of quality maize seed which Burundi imports for their agricultural activities in that country.
The Burundian President expressed optimism that the theme of the show which is “creating a competitive future “ is expected to bring positive change in terms of technology and smart agriculture which will in turn transform the agriculture sector in both countries.
“Let me thank Mr President for inviting me to come and grace this show which is a best platform for the exchange of ideas among various stakeholders aimed at enhancing economic growth through agriculture, ” he said.
And President Hakainde Hichilema has urged both the public and the private sector to operate in a competitive manner in the agriculture sector in line with the 96th Agriculture and Commercial Show theme, which is creating competitiveness for the future.
He reaffirmed the importance for Zambia and Burundi to work hard to cultivate the land and produce more food for the people especially during the adverse effects of climate change which has threatened food security.
President Hichilema bemoaned the adverse effects of the drought crisis on the agriculture sector but was quick to announce the many strides his Government is rolling out to mitigate the hunger situation which is affecting people in the 84 districts of the country.
“Let me state that government is on top of things to ensure every citizen has food to eat, to this effect my government has realigned the country’s envelope to respond to the drought, Smart agriculture and irrigation among others as some of the interventions being implemented so far,” he said.
The Head of State added that government will work in collaboration with Burundi in many areas of cooperation in a quest to foster bilateral relations.
“Let me state here that Zambia and Burundi will continue to engage each other in the ambitious agenda to produce enough food to feed the people in both countries.
And President Hichilema has commended his Burundian Counterpart Evariste Ndayishimiye for restoring peace and stability in his country.
He explained that peace and stability is paramount to spur economic activities and reiterated that instability anywhere is instability everywhere.
The President reiterated that peace is critical to promote productivity in various sectors of the economy and should be guarded jealously.
Meanwhile, Show Society President Bernard Moonga said 1,405 both foreign and local exhibitors have showcased various products translating in a seven percent increase for this year.
He explained that China has got a huge number of exhibitors who have displayed different products.
Earlier, Visiting Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye with his Zambian Counterpart President Hakainde Hichilema toured selected stands as part of this year’s 96th Agriculture and Commercial Show in Lusaka today,
Both Presidents toured ZAMBEEF company, family of farmers, a youthful organisation promoting smart agriculture practices, Bank of Zambia, BC and S farms Palabana livestock, Chipembi Girls stand and Lwimba Ranch among others.
The two Presidents also commissioned the renovated Andrew Haamba Hall within the show grounds.
