Growing water-thirsty crops like maize in drought-prone areas is obviously risky. Yet many of Zimbabwe's smallholder farmers are doing precisely that - and with it, increasing their chances of poor yields, lost income and hunger. Working alongside Zimbabwe's Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development, FAO, through its Technical Cooperation Programme, has been working to boost the production, processing and marketing of small grains in three of the country's drier provinces.