MAIZE AND AVOCADOS

Maize is not indigenous to Africa, but has become the staple food for a wide swathe of the east and south of the continent, including Tanzania. The cob is dried, and the seeds ground into a flour, which is then used to make a thick porridge (called ugali in kiswahili). This is then eaten with vegetables, fish, meat, or even milk.

In Denmark, on the other hand, maize is a low-value crop. Apart from some small sales of "corn on the cob", the field is simply harvested in the early autumn, ground up (plant and cob together) by the harvester, and used as cattle feed.

Avacados are not indigenous to Northern Europe, but have become available in a wide swathe of Scandinavia, including Denmark. The fruit is cut in half, the oil-rich stone in the middle is extracted, and the flesh is either sliced or mashed. This is then eaten with salad, tomatoes, onions or spicy meat.

In Tanzania, on the other hand, avocados are a low-value crop. There are so many trees and so many fruits per tree, that apart from small sales in and around the big cities, the fruit is simply left to drop on the ground, and get eaten as cattle feed.

In this globalised world, there ought to be opportunities here for a "win-win" deal. If only it were so simple.

Walter Blotscher