The mission of the ZNFU is to promote and safeguarding the interests of members as farmers, individuals, corporations/companies and other organisations involved in the business of farming in order to achieve sustainable economic and social development.

This mission statement sets out the following:

• Ground rules for ZNFU activities
• Identifies not only what activities the ZNFU is in, but also the core beliefs or guiding principles that underpin its activities and where it is heading.
• All objectives and strategies of the ZNFU are derived from the mission statement.
• When carrying out ZNFU activities, one important factor about the ZNFU is that it is politically neutral or non-partisan. The ZNFU has a strict policy requiring members to resign any leadership posts within the ZNFU upon entering national politics.

ZNFU has existed under various names almost since the first Large-Scale farms were established in Zambia in the early 1900s. Records show that a farmers' association existed in the Eastern Province as early as 1905.

Before independence in 1964, the ZNFU was called Rhodesia National Farmers' Union. After independence, the name became Commercial Farmers' Bureau. By 1992, this name had become outdated and misleading. Until independence, the membership had been almost entirely confined to large-scale farmers. Since then, there has been a steady growth of small-scale farmers' membership. This accelerated in the early 1980's encouraged by a policy of keeping the annual subscription at a low level, and by an entry qualification which accepts any person or organisation engaged in the business of farming in Zambia. The name was therefore changed in 1992 from "Commercial Farmers' Bureau" to "Zambia National Farmers' Union".

Contact: Godwin Mumba