Fonio

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Plant Info
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Scientific classification
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Binomial name
Digitaria exilis (Kippist) Stapf
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Synonyms
Paspalum exile Kippist Syntherisma exilis (Kippist) Newbold

Fonio is the term for cultivated grains in the Digitaria genus. These are notable in parts of West Africa and one species in India. The grains are very small.

White fonio (Digitaria exilis)

White fonio (D. exilis) is the most important of a diverse group of wild and domesticated Digitaria species that are harvested in the savannas of west Africa. Fonio is the smallest of all species of millet. It is one of the primary cereals of southern Sudan and Ethiopia in Africa. According to the mythology of the Dogon people of Mali, among whom it is known as po, the supreme creator of the universe, Amma, made the entire universe by exploding a single grain of fonio, located inside the "egg of the world".

Fonio has continued to be important locally because it is both nutritious and one of the world's fastest growing cereals, reaching maturity in as little as six to eight weeks. It is a crop that can be relied on in semi-arid areas with poor soils, where rains are brief and unreliable. The grains are used in porridge and couscous, for bread, and for beer.

Some regions in which this crop is important are the Fouta Djallon region of Guinea and the Akposso area of Togo. In the latter, fonio (called ɔva) is primarily a women's crop; it and cowpeas are used to make a traditional dish).

The small grains make it difficult and time-consuming to remove the husk. Traditional methods include pounding it in a mortar with sand (then separating the grains and sand) or "popping" it over a flame and then pounding it (which yields a toasted color grain; this technique is used among the Akposso). The invention of a simple fonio husking machine offers an easier mechanical way to dehusk.

Black fonio (Digitaria iburua)

Black fonio (D. iburua) is a similar crop grown in Nigeria, Togo, and Benin.

Raishan (D. compacta)

Raishan (D. compacta) is a minor cereal, only grown in the Khasi Hills of northeast India, with glutinous flour used to make bread or porridge.

References

• National Academy of Sciences (1996). The lost crops of Africa. 1. Grains. National Academies Press. ISBN 0-309-04990-3. http://www.nap.edu/books/0309049903/html/. 
• "Fonio: an African cereal". CIRAD. Retrieved on Jan 10, 2006.
• Danladi Dada Kuta, Emmanuel Kwon-Ndung, Stephen Dachi, Mark Ukwungwu and Emmanuel Dada Imolehin (December 2003). "Potential role of biotechnology tools for genetic improvement of “lost crops of Africa”: the case of fonio (Digitaria exilis and Digitaria iburua)". African Journal of Biotechnology 2 (12): 580-585. http://www.bioline.org.br/request?jb03109.