Southern Africans consumes more than a fifth of the world’s maize output.

It’s like telling Italians to stop eating pasta.

But Zambia’s vice president Inonge Wina insists the staple in Southern African countries should be ditched in favour of more nutritious foods.

Her country and many of its neighbors are in the grip of drought that has severely reduced maize production.

The climate-change related crises has led to 1,7 million Zambians – that’s 18 per cent of the population – suffering severe food insecurity.

The UN-linked Relief Web says 40 percent of  Zambian children under five years are stunted.

Wina advises Zambians to eat more millet, sorghum, cassava and sweet potatoes

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Flooding in 16 of the country’s 18 states has left hundreds of thousands homeless and at least 54 dead.

And the joint military and civilian ruling body has had to declare a state of emergency in Port Sudan where 16 people have died in tribal clashes.

More than destroying scores of homes, the flooding after two months of heavy rains in Sudan has impacted on  agricultural output.

The number of Sudanese facing food insecurity is expected to rise beyond three million.

Ethnic fighting, overlooked during Sudan’s political crisis, has flared up again in the east and authorities have had to apply emergency measures in Port Sudan, the  capital of the trouble spot. 

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