The Green Revolution that transformed the tropics and subtropics, from the Indian subcontinent to South America, passed Africa by. Scenes like that shown have led outsiders to conclude that the crop itself is primitive. But wheat, rice, and maize were also treated this way throughout most of their 5,000-year history as crops. Only in recent times have they been commercially processed and packaged and sold in convenient forms. Given the same treatment, grains like sorghum being cooked here can also enter modern production.
Low yield is perhaps the most frequent comment made about Africa's grains.
Yet these grains are now mostly cultivated in marginal lands under less than optimal management and the yields therefore do not reflect their true potential. Moreover, the use of yield figures can be totally misleading. Maize may be able to outyield finger millet, pearl millet, hungry rice, and tef, but only when soil fertility, moisture, and other conditions are good. Under poor conditions, African grains often outyield the best products of modern science. Disparaging comments about African foods are not uncommon in the writings of travelers especially in Victorian times.