Farmers’ Day

Farmers’ Day recognises smallholders, commercial farmers, livestock keepers, farm workers and the households whose production supports food security and rural livelihoods. Zambia’s agricultural history is not one uniform maize story: crops, livestock, market access, land tenure, rainfall and farm scale vary widely by province, while drought and climate change expose producers to unequal risks.

The holiday coincides with the closing period of Lusaka’s Agricultural and Commercial Show but is not identical to every show or exhibition. The Show Society traces its event to 1919 and now brings agriculture together with manufacturing, technology, trade and finance. In 2026 the 98th show ran July 29–August 3, while the Ministry of Agriculture separately published dates for shows around the country.

Farmers’ Day is a nationwide public holiday listed in the Schedule to Zambia’s Public Holidays Act. Section 2(2) makes the following Monday a public holiday when a scheduled date falls on Sunday; it provides no Saturday substitute. A 2026 bill to delete that Sunday rule was withdrawn. Employment Code sections 35 and 75 govern paid designation and work on public holidays, so a calendar entry alone does not replace an employee’s contract, collective agreement or applicable statutory instrument.