Some Zimbabwean farmers turn to maggots to survive drought and thrive

Mari Choumumba stands next to a production tank of maggots at her home in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe, on Sept. 18, 2024. A worker holds two black soldier flies at a maggot breeding center in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe, on Oct. 19. 2024. The black soldier fly originates in tropical South America and, unlike the house fly, is not known to spread disease. A worker holds maggots at a breeding center in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe, on Oct. 19, 2024.

At first, the suggestion to try farming maggots spooked Mari Choumumba and other farmers in Nyangambe, a region in southeastern Zimbabwe where drought wiped out the staple crop of corn.