The Svosve family in north-eastern Zimbabwe is switching from maize to local grains, which would have been impossible a few years ago, in order to combat the ongoing drought and food shortages.This is despite the fact that water and maize are both essential for the average Zimbabwean family since sadza, the country’s staple diet, is made from maize flour.
Maize is a significant income crop in addition to being a staple crop and a status symbol for farmers.Sorghum and millet were both staple crops until maize was introduced from the Americas by Portuguese traders in the 1500s, but low yields have driven the Svosves, who are subsistence farmers, to concentrate more on growing them. Food shortage is escalating in African countries leading to malnutrition or worse death.
