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Fonio
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
(unranked):	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Genus:	Digitaria
Species:	D. exilis
Binomial name
Digitaria exilis (Kippist) Stapf
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 in addition to one species in India. The grains are very small.

The name (borrowed by English from French) is from Wolof foño "Digitaria exilis," itself from one of the Mande languages (cf. Bambara fini).^[1]

Types [edit]

White fonio (Digitaria exilis) [edit]

White fonio (D. exilis), also called "hungry rice," is the most important of a diverse group of wild and domesticated Digitaria species that are harvested in the savannas of West Africa. Fonio has the smallest seeds of all species of millet. It has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable use of the land.

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, the Akposso area of Togo and Central Nigeria. In Togo, 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) [edit]

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

Raishan [edit]

Raishan (D. cruciata var. esculenta) is a minor cereal, only grown in the Khasi Hills of northeast India, with glutinous flour used to make bread or porridge.^[2]

Mythology [edit]

According to the mythology of the Dogon people of Mali, among whom it is known as pō tolo, 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".

References [edit]

Further reading [edit]

• National Research Council (14 February 1996). "Fonio (Acha)". Grains. Lost Crops of Africa 1. Washington: National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0-309-04990-0. Retrieved 2008-07-18. 
• "Fonio: an African cereal crop". CIRAD. Archived from the original on October 13, 2005. Retrieved January 10, 2006. 
• Kuta, Danladi Dada; Kwon-Ndung, Emmanuel; Dachi, Stephen; Ukwungwu, Mark; Imolehin, Emmanuel Dada (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. ISSN 1684-5315. 
• Burtt-Davy, J. (1913). "Teff (Eragrostis abyssinica)". Kew Bulletin 1913 (1): 32–39. 
• Chevalier, A. 1922. Les petites céréales. Revue Internationale d’Agriculture Tropicale et Botanique appliquée, 2:544-550.
• Hilu, K.W. (1997). "Fonio millets: Ethnobotany, genetic diversity and evolution". South African Journal of Botany 63 (4): 185–190. 
• Morales-Payán, J.; Pablo, J.; Ortiz, Richard; Cicero, Julio; Taveras, Francisco (2002). In Janick, J.; Whipkey, A. Digitaria exilis as a crop in the Dominican Republic. Supplement to: Trends in new crops and new uses. Alexandria, VA: ASHS Press. 
• Portères, R. (1946). "L’aire culturale du Digitaria iburua Stapf. céréale mineure de l’Ouest Africain". L’Agronomie tropicale (in French) 1 (11-12): 389–392. 
• Portères, R. (1955). "Les céréales mineures du genre Digitaria en Afrique et Europe". Journal d’Agriculture Tropicale et Botanique Appliquée (in French) (2): 349–386, 477–510, 620–675. 
• Portères, R. (1976). "African cereals: eleusine, fonio, black fonio, teff, Brachiaria, Paspalum, Pennisetum and African rice". In Harlan, J.R.; De Wet, J.M.J.; Stemler, A.B.L. Origins of African plant domestication. The Hague: Mouton. pp. 409–452.