Originally published in The Economist on May 25, 2026, and reprinted here. A sheaf of wheat can have many meanings. For Ethiopia’s Prosperity Party, which chose one as its campaign logo ahead of polls scheduled for June 1st, it is a symbol of national unity: stalks entwined like the country’s many ethnic groups. More than that, it is an emblem of Ethiopia’s progress towards “food sovereignty”, explained the mayor of Addis Ababa, the capital, at a recent rally. No longer should Ethiopians beg foreigners for aid, she said: “We produce wheat ourselves and have become self-sufficient.” If once Ethiopia was…