Fonio

Last updated December 15, 2023

Fonio, also sometimes called findi or acha, is the term for two cultivated grasses in the genus Digitaria that are important crops in parts of West Africa.^[1] The nutritious food with a favorable taste is a vital food source in many rural areas, especially in the mountains of Fouta Djalon, Guinea but it is also cultivated in Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Senegal. ^[1]^[2]^[3] The global fonio market was estimated at 721,400 tonnes in 2020.^[4] Guinea annually produces the most fonio in the world, accounting for over 75% of the world's production in 2019.^[5] The name fonio (borrowed into English from French) is from Wolof foño.^[6] In West Africa, the species black fonio (Digitaria iburua) and white fonio (Digitaria exilis) are cultivated, whereby the latter is the economically more important crop.^[7]

Fonio is a glumaceous monocot belonging to the grass family Poaceae and the genus Digitaria. While hundreds of these crabgrass species exist, only a few of them are produced for their grains. It is a small annual herbaceous plant with an inflorescence containing two or three racemes. The racemes have spikelets grouped in twos, threes, or fours, with a sterile and a fertile flower producing the fonio grain.^[7] Fonio has a short growing season and is well adjusted to harsh environments.^[2] The size of their root system, which can extend down to more than one meter in depth is advantageous in periods of drought, and helps with its adaptation to poor soils.^[7] Once considered a humble and often overlooked grain commonly known as the "cereal of the poor," fonio is now gaining attention in urban West Africa. Its unique cooking properties and nutritional benefits are sparking renewed interest in this once underrated staple.^[2]

Types

White fonio

White fonio, Digitaria exilis , also called "hungry rice" by Europeans, is the most common of a diverse group of wild and domesticated Digitaria species that are harvested in the savannas of West Africa.^[1] Fonio has the smallest seeds of all species of millet.^[1] It has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security,^[8] foster rural development, and support sustainable use of the land.^[1]

Nutritious, gluten-free, and high in dietary fiber,^[1]^[3]^[9] fonio is one of the world's fastest-growing cereals, reaching maturity in as little as six to eight weeks.^[1] The grains are used to make porridge, couscous, bread, and beer.^[1]

Black fonio

Black fonio, D. iburua, also known as iburu, is a similar crop grown in several countries of West Africa, particularly Nigeria, Togo, and Benin.^[1] Like white fonio, it is nutritious, fast-growing, and has the benefit of maturing before other grains, allowing for harvest during the "hungry season."^[10] However, it contains considerably more protein compared to D. exilis.

Black fonio is mostly cultivated in rural communities and is rarely sold commercially, even in West African cities.^[10]

Cultivation and processing

Climate and attributes

Fonio is cultivated in all West Africa as a staple crop.^[11] Guinea is the biggest producer of fonio with a production of 483,906 tonnes (533,415 short tons) and a cultivated surface area of 590,129 hectares (1,458,240 acres) in 2021, followed by Nigeria (86,609 tonnes (95,470 short tons)) and Mali (47,664 tonnes (52,541 short tons)).^[12]

Fonio grows in dry climates without irrigation, and is unlikely to be a successful crop in humid regions.^[13] It is planted in light (sandy to stony) soils, and will grow in poor soil.^[14] Fonio is cultivated at sea level in Gambia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau,^[15] but it is otherwise mostly cultivated in altitudes ranging between 400 and 1,500 metres (1,300 and 4,900 ft).^[14] The growth cycle ranges from 70–130 days, depending on variety.^[14] It is mostly grown in areas with an average annual rainfall of 900–1,000 millimetres (35–39 in).^[16]

Fonio plants are medium in height.^[11] Indeed, D.exilis can reach a heigh of 80 centimetres (31 in), and D. iburua a height of 150 centimetres (59 in).^[14] The ploidy level for the species range from diploid (2n), tetraploid (4n), to hexaploid (6n)^[17] Like many other grasses, fonio has a C₄ carbon fixation, which makes it drought tolerant.^[16]

Ploughing and sowing

The ploughing is done by the men by hand, animal traction or with tractors.^[14] The sowing is generally done by hand by the women, depending on the onset of the rainy season.^[11] The fonio plant grows quickly; some landrace reach maturity in 8 weeks.^[14] It is, however, a weak weed competitor at the beginning of its growth, so weeding is important in the first development stages.^[18]

Harvest

Fonio is labor-intensive to harvest and process. In some regions, the mature fonio plants are uprooted, but the most common method is to cut the straws with knives and sickles which often leads to wounds on the hands.^[18] Women then gather the sheaves into cylindrical stacks or horizontal beams to store the sheaves and allow them to dry before the threshing without overheating.^[19] The threshing is then done by trampling on the plants or by beating the plants with rigid rods or more flexible sticks^[19]

The fonio plants are prone to lodging in the soil, which makes potential mechanization of the harvest processes difficult.^[19]

Dehusking

After the threshing, the fonio grains are still in their husk and the small grains make husk removal difficult and time-consuming.^[13] Traditional methods include pounding it in a mortar with sand, and then separating the grains and sand,^[11] or "popping" it over a flame and then pounding it, which yields a toasted-color grain (a technique used among the Akposso ^[13]). The invention of a simple fonio husking machine offers an easier mechanical way to dehusk.^[20]

Gender role

Gender role plays a big part in the cultivation of fonio; tasks are distributed differently between men and women. Women do the weeding, the threshing by trampling, the cleaning as well as the drying and processing, while men do the harvest and the threshing by beating.^[11] Women's role is predominant in fonio's production.^[21] Half of the cultivation's tasks are exclusively done by women, against 14% for men.^[11] The tasks assigned to women require patience and meticulousness, while those assigned to men call for strength.^[11]^[21]

Effect of processing methods on nutrient value

Before consumption, fonio grains must be processed using mechanical (dehusking, milling) or thermal (precooking, parboiling, roasting) methods. Depending on the processing method, the nutrient value may be affected.^[22]^[23]

Regarding the macronutrients, the carbohydrate content remains higher when the grains are precooked rather than roasted. The protein content is much lower after milling because the bran that gets removed contains a lot of protein. The highest protein content is achieved when parboiling. The lipid content is increased when roasted and decreased when milled or precooked.^[23]

Regarding micronutrients, the iron and zinc content remains the highest when parboiled while milling leads to a loss due to the removal of the bran.^[23] Phytate, an anti-nutritional factor that inhibits the absorption of minerals like iron and zinc, is reduced by washing and cooking but is still high enough to inhibit adequate mineral absorption.^[22]

Generally, parboiled fonio shows the best nutritional composition when compared to the other processing methods.^[23] However, parboiling fonio does not lead to as efficient redistribution of nutrients as is the case with parboiled rice. Additionally, the process of parboiling changes the color of the fonio grains which is disliked by some consumers.^[22]

Commercialization outside of Africa

Fonio has been relatively unknown outside the African continent until recently, when companies in Europe and the United States began to import the grain from West Africa, often citing its ecological and nutritional benefits in their marketing.^[24]

United States

In the United States, Yolélé Foods, led by Senegalese-American chef Pierre Thiam, started importing and selling fonio in 2017. Thiam hopes introduce Americans to the grain while simultaneously supporting sustainable and traditional agriculture in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali and Senegal. What is considered to be a peasant's food in West Africa is now sold in luxury grocery stores in the United States.^[25]

However, Thiam positions his project as part of a larger movement to elevate the economic power of African farmers, who for centuries have been suppressed by Western hegemony in the global food system.^[25]

European Union

In December 2018, the European Commission approved commercialization of fonio as a novel food in the European Union, after submission by the Italian company Obà Food to manufacture and market new food products. These products include fonio pasta, revealing a desire to change fonio to be more recognizable to the European palate.^[26]^[27]^[28]

Since this initial approval, fonio has gradually become more popular and more accessible in Europe. By 2021, the EU was importing 422 metric tonnes (465.2 tons) of fonio, a significant increase from the 172 metric tonnes (189.6 tons) imported in 2016.^[29]

Related Research Articles

A cereal is any grass cultivated for its edible grain, which is composed of an endosperm, a germ, and a bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop and are therefore staple crops. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize. Edible grains from other plant families, such as buckwheat, quinoa, and chia, are referred to as pseudocereals.

Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus Triticum ; the most widely grown is common wheat. The archaeological record suggests that wheat was first cultivated in the regions of the Fertile Crescent around 9600 BC. Botanically, the wheat kernel is a caryopsis, a type of fruit.

Millets are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets also belong to various other taxa.

Eleusine coracana, or finger millet is an annual herbaceous plant widely grown as a cereal crop in the arid and semiarid areas in Africa and Asia. It is a tetraploid and self-pollinating species probably evolved from its wild relative Eleusine africana.

Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat and barley. Rye grain is used for flour, bread, beer, crispbread, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder. It can also be eaten whole, either as boiled rye berries or by being rolled, similar to rolled oats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quinoa</span> Edible plant in the family Amaranthaceae

Quinoa is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is an herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins and dietary minerals in amounts greater than in many grains. Quinoa is not a grass but rather a pseudocereal botanically related to spinach and amaranth, and originated in the Andean region of northwestern South America. It was first used to feed livestock 5,200–7,000 years ago, and for human consumption 3,000–4,000 years ago in the Lake Titicaca basin of Peru and Bolivia.

Teff, also known as Eragrostis tef, Williams lovegrass, or annual bunch grass, is an annual grass, a species of lovegrass native to the Horn of Africa, notably to both Eritrea and Ethiopia. It is cultivated for its edible seeds, also known as teff. Teff was one of the earliest plants domesticated. It is one of the most important staple crops in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Vigna subterranea is a member of the family Fabaceae. Its name is derived from the Bambara tribe. The plant originated in West Africa. As a food and source of income, the Bambara groundnut is considered to be the third most important leguminous crop in those African countries where it is grown, after peanut and cowpea. The crop is mainly cultivated, sold and processed by women, and is, thus, particularly valuable for female subsistence farmers.

Parboiled rice, also called converted rice, easy-cook rice, sella rice, and miniket is rice that has been partially boiled in the husk. The three basic steps of parboiling are soaking, steaming and drying. These steps make the rice easier to process by hand, while also boosting its nutritional profile, changing its texture, and making it more resistant to weevils. The treatment is practiced in many other parts of the world.

<i>Digitaria</i> Genus of plants (grasses; crabgrass)

Digitaria is a genus of plants in the grass family native to tropical and warm temperate regions but can occur in tropical, subtropical, and cooler temperate regions as well. Common names include crabgrass, finger-grass, and fonio. They are slender monocotyledonous annual and perennial lawn, pasture, and forage plants; some are often considered lawn pests. Digitus is the Latin word for "finger", and they are distinguished by the long, finger-like inflorescences they produce.

Digitaria exilis, referred to as findi or fundi in areas of Africa, such as The Gambia, with English common names white fonio, fonio millet, and hungry rice or acha rice, is a grass species. It is the most important of a diverse group of wild and domesticated Digitaria species known as fonio that are harvested in the savannas of West Africa. The grains are very small. It has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable use of the land. Despite its valuable characteristics and widespread cultivation, fonio has generally received limited research and development attention, which is also why the species is sometimes referred to as an underutilized crop.

The fonio husking machine was invented by Sanoussi Diakité, a Senegalese mechanical engineer. Diakité was awarded the Rolex Award in 1996 for the invention.

Sorghum bicolor, commonly called sorghum and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a grass species cultivated for its grain, which is used for food for humans, animal feed, and ethanol production. Sorghum originated in Africa, and is now cultivated widely in tropical and subtropical regions. Sorghum is the world's fifth-most important cereal crop after rice, wheat, maize, and barley, with 61,000,000 metric tons of annual global production in 2021. S. bicolor is typically an annual, but some cultivars are perennial. It grows in clumps that may reach over 4 metres (13 ft) high. The grain is small, ranging from 2 to 4 millimetres in diameter. Sweet sorghums are sorghum cultivars that are primarily grown for forage, syrup production, and ethanol; they are taller than those grown for grain.

Digitaria sanguinalis is a species of grass known by several common names, including hairy crabgrass, hairy finger-grass, large crabgrass, crab finger grass, purple crabgrass. It is one of the better-known species of the genus Digitaria, and one that is known nearly worldwide as a common weed. It is used as animal fodder, and the seeds are edible and have been used as a grain in Germany and especially Poland, where it is sometimes cultivated. This has earned it the name Polish millet.

Paspalum scrobiculatum, commonly called Kodo millet or Koda millet, is an annual grain that is grown primarily in Nepal and also in India, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and in West Africa from where it originated. It is grown as a minor crop in most of these areas, with the exception of the Deccan plateau in India where it is grown as a major food source. It is a very hardy crop that is drought tolerant and can survive on marginal soils where other crops may not survive, and can supply 450–900 kg of grain per hectare. Kodo millet has large potential to provide nourishing food to subsistence farmers in Africa and elsewhere.

Thinopyrum intermedium, known commonly as intermediate wheatgrass, is a sod-forming perennial grass in the Triticeae tribe of Pooideae native to Europe and Western Asia. It is part of a group of plants commonly called wheatgrasses because of the similarity of their seed heads or ears to common wheat. However, wheatgrasses generally are perennial, while wheat is an annual. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit as an ornamental.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grain</span> Edible dry seed

A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legumes.

Digitaria compacta is a grass species native to India and Indochina. It is cultivated in the Khasi Hills of northeast India, used as a glutinous flour for making bread or porridge, and known as raishan.

Digitaria iburua, commonly known as iburu, is a grass species native to west and west-central tropical Africa, which is cultivated as a grain crop known as black fonio.

Brachiaria deflexa is an annual millet grass belonging to the grass family (Poaceae). It is native to many regions such as Africa, India, and Pakistan in both tropical and subtropical regions. It has been used as a supplemental food source among other cereal crops.

References

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