“That may be because of the starvation going on there.”
Good point as to why they’re growing corn instead of coffee, starvation sure has a way of changing priorities. I’m no farmer, and I can’t presume why some crops are grown instead of others, but the shift from continuing with an established, marketable cash crop to one that is intended just for domestic consumption is pretty telling.
When the old farmers were run out of the country, they took a lot of knowledge with them. And it takes, what? A decade or so to re-establish coffee growing for export? I hope the people of Zimbabwe can wait that long...
I think the article said at least 4 years before getting any beans. So yo’re probably right saying ten years before a real profit can be made.