SOUTH Africa’s 2000/01 maize crop has begun in the east amid mixed reports on weather conditions in the west, cooperatives said. The maize crop is estimated to be 23.6% smaller according to intentions-to-plant released by the National Crop Estimates Committee in September. However, a number of big cooperatives said the figure meant very little and once good rains had fallen over key maize-growing regions in the western and central parts of the maize triangle farmers would flock into planting the grain. – Reuters