Daniel Tembo's Story: How Agricultural Data Can Help Governments Respond to Crisis

When a severe drought hit Zambia in 2024, decisions affecting food security had to be made quickly.  

Policymakers needed reliable information to understand the scale of the crisis, assess crop production, and determine how best to respond. Yet the availability of that information depended on something often taken for granted: timely and adequately funded agricultural data collection. 

To explore the human stories behind agricultural statistics, the 50x2030 Initiative is pleased to share a new animated video featuring Daniel Tembo, an agricultural statistics professional from Zambia. Developed through The Moth's Global Community Program, the video tells the story of how Daniel's experience during a severe drought changed his understanding of the role agricultural data play in times of crisis. 

As demand for information grew, Daniel and his colleagues faced a difficult challenge. Delays in survey funding meant that up-to-date crop production data were not available when government officials needed evidence to assess food availability and consider whether maize imports would be required. Under pressure to support urgent decisions, the team worked to provide the best possible estimates from the information they had.