As she walks along a dirt road in central Malawi, Louise Abale carries her precious corn wrapped in a brightly colored cloth and balanced on her head.
Because of drought in Malawi and across southern Africa the grain has doubled in price in the space of a year, and now costs around 200 kwacha (28 cents) a kilogram.
Like many, Abale is struggling to pay for corn, a staple of the diet, and says her own stunted crop will not be ready for harvest for two months. "It's too expensive, I have almost no money," she said.