Fonio is the term for two cultivated grasses in the genus Digitaria that are notable crops in parts of West Africa. They are millets with small grains. They have C4 carbon fixation as in many other grasses. They are medium in height. The ploidy level for the species range from diploid (2n), tetraploid (4n), to hexaploid (6n).
Fonio is consumed mainly in the West African countries, where it is also cultivated. The global fonio market was 673,000 tonnes in 2016. The name fonio (borrowed by English from French) is from Wolof foño. The grain is also known as acha in parts of Nigeria.
The European Commission with the EU Regulation L 323/1 of December 19th 2018 approved the commercialization in Europe of Fonio as Novel Food, upon the scientific dossier managed and submitted by the "the applicant" Italian company Obà Food.
White fonio, Digitaria 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 is 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.
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, D. iburua, is a similar crop grown in Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Guinea, Togo, and Benin, Ghana.
^ Haq, N (1995). Fonio (Digitaria exilis and Digitaria iburua). London: Chapman & Hall. pp. 2–6.
^ Adoukonou-Sagbadja, H.; Schubert, V.; Dansi, A.; Jovtchev, G.; Meister, A.; Pistrick, K.; Akpagana, K.; Friedt, W. (2 July 2007). "Flow cytometric analysis reveals different nuclear DNA contents in cultivated Fonio (Digitaria spp.) and some wild relatives from West-Africa". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 267 (1–4): 163–176. doi:10.1007/s00606-007-0552-z. ISSN 0378-2697.
^ Sergey Avramenko (3 May 2018). "Guinea Is the Largest Producing Country of Fonio". IndexBox. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
^ "Fonio: EU Novel Food Approval". Official Journal of the European Union.
^ "Italian firm Obà brings Fonio to Europe". Food Navigator.
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This page was last edited on 15 April 2019, at 16:51 (UTC).