UPND GOVT BOASTS OF BUMPER HARVEST WHICH IS LESS THAN HIGHEST PF ACHIEVED
As is custom for the United Party for National Development (UPND), there is no small amount of massaging of, not only numbers, but also egos.
The UPND propaganda machine coughed itself into high gear last night posting figures superimposed on an appropriate picture of Hakainde Hichilema, as if he was solely responsible for what is being touted by some of them, especially in drinking places, as the “highest figures in Zambia’s history”.
But is it? Reliable figures from sources that have tracked Zambia’s production for the last decade, up to this very season, suggest otherwise.
The highest figures of maize production are still those recorded in 2021 of 3,600,000 metric tonnes, which gave Zambia a surplus of 1,600,000 metric tonnes.
2021-2022 season is difficult to ascribe because the year 2021 in which the farming was done has both the Patriotic Front and the UPND in charge of affairs. The UPND took over after the August 13, elections, but used the PF Fertiliser Support Programme, which they later reorganised into their own version called Farmer Input Support Programme for the 2022-2023 season, during which production plummeted to 2.7 million metric tonnes, later recovering somewhat in 2023-2024 at 3.2 million metric tonnes. The drought devastated season was 2024-2025 when production fell to 1.5 million metric tonnes.
Remember, the 3.6 million metric tonnes recorded in the 2021-2022 season is not just a projection but actual production, whereas this thing being boasted about now is a slightly exaggerated projection, for political purposes. A more realistic projection for this 2025 – 2026 season is actually 3.4 million metric tonnes.
Good day.
Data source: United States Department Of Agriculture (USDA); https://ipad.fas.usda.gov/countrysummary/default.aspx?id=ZA&crop=Corn
John 8:32 “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
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