Written question asked by John Barrett (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 18 December 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 7 January 2003. It was answered by Clare Short (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 January 2003 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Dept for International Development

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what potential there is for the replacement of maize by sorghum as the staple crop of Southern Mozambique.

Answer: John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what potential there is for the replacement of maize by sorghum as the staple crop of southern Mozambique. [88681] Clare Short: There has been a trend towards reintroduction of sorghum in southern Mozambique to promote resilience to drought. However, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recently held a meeting that concluded that sorghum is not an ideal alternative to maize in southern Mozambique. Though sorghum resists drought a little bit better than maize, it is not a drought resistant crop, it is very labour intensive, has a long growing period and has high demands on soil fertility and moisture. Maize has also tended to experience steady market prices and an unlimited demand on the market as an export crop for Europe. The FAO meeting concluded that the best solution for southern Africa would be to identify patches with the right conditions for either maize or sorghum, and that the success of the introduction of any new crop will depend on the prevailing economic and marketing prospects.

Secondary information