Ethiopia is waging a novel war against famine. Relief workers are teaching people about the soil. They are trying to counter the land degradation, caused by too many farmers crowded on small tracts, thereby destroying Ethiopia's terrain.

The concerted effort of relief workers to tackle famines is bearing fruit. More and more areas of land are coming under teff cultivation. Teff is the wispy grain used to make injera, the pancake-like staple of the Ethiopian diet. It is growing even in places where farmers had thrown down their hoes in rank frustration.

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