Reuters: Standing waist-deep in a hole, South African maize farmer Tom van Rooyen digs at the side with a small pickaxe.
"There is moisture 25 centimeters down but nothing beyond that. If we get below-average rains, it will be a disaster," he said, wiping the red dust from his calloused hands.
Poor rains are forecast for South Africa's maize belt because of the El Nino weather pattern, expected to bring more drought to already-parched southern regions in Africa and potential flooding in the east.
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