East Timor: On the shortage of rice · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Ângela Carrascalão [pt] describes how rice entered East Timor via Indonesia, substituting native corn, and the problem the country now faces in times of food shortage: “When it was no longer part of the current diet of the East Timorese people, the population almost ceased to grow corn, and the idea that the maize could help to overcome the shortage of rice in the market is not even contemplated.”