It is a mystery to me how a johnny-come-lately like maize in Africa (or for that matter tomato in Italy) can work its way into local consciousness to the extent that people not only consider it as their own but prefer it to things that actually perform better. In one small African country, Swaziland, that may be changing.
“My maize all died in the heat, or it was stunted and the cobs were so small they were only good to give to the cattle. But look at my sorghum! It is doing well,” said Nonhlanhla Thwala, a widow in Lubombo, the country’s eastern region.
The full story is in AllAfrica.com, and it is well worth reading. It seems a shame that it takes a drought and major crop failures to provoke people into reassessing their options and returning to the agricultural biodiversity they abandoned a few generations ago. But at least it is happening.