What purpose is served by Squealer reading the production figures to the animals in Chapter VIII of Animal Farm?

By Chapter VIII, Napoleon has begun involving the farm in trade with other farms, and as a result he demands much higher production of food from the animals on the farm.  During the course of Chapter VIII, Squealer comes to the animals and reads them the production figures.  While the figures are informative to the animals, Squealer's purpose in reading them to the animals takes on an added significance.  The figures serve as an illustration of the success of the farm/state.  They are meant to instill pride and a sense of motivation in the animals, though the opposite it most often the case.  It speaks quite clearly to the often uneasy relationship between the needs of the individual (workers) and the needs of the state characteristic of socialism.