Claim
On December 17, 2023, a Facebook page going by the name “Agriculture Zambia” shared a post alleging that, in collaboration with IFAD, UN, FAO, and the World Bank, the Ministry of Agriculture had launched a program to empower small-scale and large-scale farmers. The post claimed the programme offered financial aid in the form of grants, anticipating significant benefits for farmers. The post gained traction with 1.5k likes with 19 comments expressing gratitude for the perceived positive news. It also had 446 shares, including a share on the “Zambian Maize Farmers and Traders” page. The announcement encouraged interested parties to apply through the provided link: https://shorturl.at/xGPX4. The application process involved completing a Google document with two sections: “Farming/Agri-Business Details” and a “Farming Financial Support Section,” which required specifying the amount of financial aid requested.
Rating Justification
iVerify Zambia examined the “Agriculture Zambia” Facebook page to determine its authenticity and found it to be fake as it had several deficiencies. The page lacked crucial information such as contact details and postal and physical addresses in its “About” section.
The Ministry of Agriculture, through the Department of National Agricultural Information Services (NAIS), also disowned the page and indicated it had nothing to do with the advert in circulation. The purported advert is also not on the official Ministry of Agriculture website (https://www.agriculture.gov.zm). Department of National Agricultural Information Services (NAIS) Chief Agricultural Information Officer, Ms. Liswaniso Mulaiskwanda, confirmed that the Facebook page in question is indeed fake. She stated that the Ministry always communicates matters of public interest through its official communication channels. She added that a statement would be issued to address the matter of the fake Facebook page and advertisement.
