The menu of the Svosve family, based in Mudzi, a region in the northeast of the country, has changed completely. The family has given up on maize to switch to local cereals, notably sorghum and millet. A scenario that was inconceivable a few months ago, and which many Zimbabwean households are nevertheless experiencing, underlines the site of the BBC, which devotes an article to this phenomenon.
Imported from the Americas by Portuguese traders in the 16e century, maize is a central part of the diet in Zimbabwe, “it comes second only to water in the average Zimbabwean household”, underlines the BBC. It is used in particular to cook sadza, the staple food of the country’s cuisine. But now, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, and with an increased drought, its price has increased by more than 50%. As for fertilizers, the price of their components has tripled. In fact, the country’s entire economy is bearing the brunt of inflation, which reached 191.6% last June. And many basic necessities have become inaccessible.
To replace maize, the Svosves therefore chose sorghum and millet. Two cereals formerly consumed by Zimbabweans, and which are more resistant to drought. Trusting in the BBC, the father of the family, Lovemore Svosve, is delighted to have opted for these cereals, which will allow them to last the season: “We have planted a significant amount of maize as well as sorghum and millet. But we got nothing from corn. It was burned as a result of the drought. We have only harvested traditional cereals.”
In fact, for 5 kilos of seeds, they obtained a ton of sorghum, against only a few cobs of maize for 10 kilos of seeds and 100 kilos of fertilizer. Verdict: “We will no longer replant corn. I don’t know how anyone in this region can do that after the last season,” says one of his wives, Rose Karina.
This is precisely what the current government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) are seeking, which are pushing farmers to return to these crops that require less fertilizer, are more resistant to drought and rich in nutrients. But these seeds are still unknown to the majority of farmers: 377,000 tonnes were produced last year, compared to 2.7 million tonnes of maize, recalls the BBC.