It's not often that a scientist from Africa wins an international prize but Gebisa Ejeta of Ethiopia is the recipient of the 2009 World Food Prize for his work in fighting the devastating Striga weedThis weed is a killer. The amazing thing is that you would not know just by looking at it. It presents itself as a solid vibrant green and upright shrub that faithfully produces beautiful deep pink/white/yellow flowers. When you see it in its prime, you definitely will be tempted to take it home.
Striga weed is a very clever parasitic weed that has no proper roots of its own but survives by robbery and corruption. It siphons nutrients and moisture from agricultural crops by tapping directly into a host’s root system. The host, usually maize or sorghum, then expends a lot of energy supporting the growth of Striga weed. This leads to very poor yields for the farmers, resulting in food insecurity, famine and malnutrition in many countries.
In Zimbabwe we have a very similar situation happening even as you read this article. Zimbabwe was doing well as a country until Sally Mugabe died and another woman sprouted on the scene to be recognised as Robert’s second wife. Striga weed infests farmers’ crops from underground. It lays its parasitic roots just below the surface and by the time its shoots appear to the naked eye it’s too late to save the crops.
Grace Mugabe has turned out to be Zimbabwe’s own version of Striga weed. The combination of her persona and that of Robert Mugabe has produced a devastating impact on the prosperity of a nation once so vibrant, but now ruined by the parasitic clutches of a husband and wife team bent on creating a fictional monarchy within a republic.
Just as Striga weed is stubborn and notoriously arrogant, Rob and Grace are a perfect match. Striga weed takes a lot of effort to control. You cannot kill it off because each time it produces seeds they come in millions and can lay dormant underground for many years before catching you by surprise. The weed is also genetically dynamic and will mutate and resist weed killer solutions within a very short space of time.
The work of the Ethiopian scientist is not able to eradicate this weed. It only renders it less deadly, thereby increasing crop yields for the long-suffering farmers. This parallels with what our own political scientist, Morgan Tsvangirai, is attempting to do. His efforts will not get rid of Rob & Grace but will lessen their impact and allow a bit of life back into the country.
Striga weed adapts its growth rate to match the crop field that it infests. It is never satisfied. The bigger the farmer’s crop, the harder Striga works to destroy it. The same applies to Rob and Grace. They started off munching away on aid money intended to finance projects for the poor – but that was not enough.
They then focused their parasitic tentacles onto the commercial farms and other companies, but still that was not enough. Then the biggest tragedy for Zimbabwe happened – diamonds were discovered.
Rob and Grace mutated over-night, from petty thieves of foreign aid and pathetic land robbers into a big gang of internationally-organised criminals dealing in blood diamonds. For years scientists from America, Asia and Africa have been frustrated as Striga weed stood up to them. It has made a mockery of scientific research and keeps on going without a care in the world.
Among those who care about democracy, who has not tried? Global leaders have all done their bit and watched hopelessly as Rob and Grace marched on without a care in the world. From Gaddafi to Zuma, Mugabe to Yar’Adua – little human versions of Striga weed are sucking Africa dry, bringing hopelessness and death to millions of hard-working people.
The distinctive mark of Striga weed is its ability to make a farmer’s efforts look useless while it flourishes. Rob and Grace have built a 25 bed-roomed house for themselves when 90% of Zimbabweans live in thatched huts with cow dung for a floor.
Grace makes trips to Hong Kong to buy expensive shoes and clothes, while the ordinary Zimbabwean woman walks miles just to get enough dirty water for her kids to drink. Robert dashes down highways built by Ian Smith, his German-built fuel guzzlers in convoy, lights blaring, while ordinary motorists sit for hours in long queues just to a get a few litres of over-priced fuel.
Agricultural research scientists are not giving up on Striga weed. The days are numbered for this weed and her human copy-cats.
Post published in: Opinions