Fonio

Fonio is a small grain from West Africa.

It grows very fast. Some types grow in just six weeks. This helps when food is hard to find.

The plant has long roots. These roots reach deep into the soil. This helps the plant live in dry places.

People use the grain for many foods. They make bread and porridge. They even make beer with it.

It is a healthy food for many people. Fonio is a special gift from the land.

Fonio is a special grain from West Africa.

It comes from grasses in the genus Digitaria. Two main types are grown. There is white fonio and black fonio. White fonio is very important for trade. It has tiny seeds. These are the smallest seeds of all millet.

Fonio grows very fast. It can be ready in six to eight weeks. This helps people during the "hungry season." This is a time when other foods are scarce. The plant can live in dry, poor soil. Its roots grow deep into the ground.

Growing fonio involves many steps. Men often do the heavy work like ploughing. Women do much of the other work. They weed, clean, and process the grain. People use the grain to make bread, porridge, and couscous. It is also used to make beer. Fonio is very healthy. It has fiber and is gluten-free. Now, people in Europe and the United States are buying it too.

It is becoming a popular food around the world.

Fonio is a special kind of grain from West Africa.

It comes from grasses in the genus Digitaria. There are two main types of this crop. One is white fonio, which is very important for trade. The other is black fonio, which grows in places like Nigeria and Togo. Black fonio has more protein than the white kind. Both types are very nutritious and grow very fast. This speed helps people have food during the "hungry season."

Growing fonio takes many careful steps. First, the land is ploughed by men using hands, animals, or tractors. Then, women usually plant the seeds by hand. The plants grow quickly, sometimes in just six to eight weeks. Weeding is a very important job at the start. During harvest, people use knives or sickles to cut the straws. This work can be hard on the hands. Women then gather the plants into stacks to dry.

History shows that fonio has always been a vital food. It was once called the "cereal of the poor" because it was so humble. Now, it is gaining much more attention in cities. Many people in West Africa are finding new interest in it. The grain is used to make many tasty things. People make porridge, bread, and even beer from it. It is also used to make couscous.

There are many interesting facts about where fonio grows. Guinea is the biggest producer in the world. In 2019, Guinea made over 75% of the world's fonio. Other places like Mali, Senegal, and Nigeria also grow it. The grain likes dry climates and sandy or stony soils. It can even grow in poor soil because its roots go deep. Some plants can grow over one meter deep into the ground. This helps them survive when there is a drought.

Fonio is now traveling far beyond West Africa. In 2017, a company called Yolélé Foods began selling it in the United States. They want to support farmers in places like Burkina Faso and Mali. In 2018, the European Union approved fonio as a new food. This means companies in Europe can now make things like fonio pasta. In 2016, the EU imported 172 metric tonnes of the grain. By 2021, that number grew to 422 metric tonnes.

Fonio is a vital group of cultivated grasses from the genus *Digitaria*.

These grains are essential food sources in many rural parts of West Africa. They are particularly important in the mountains of Fouta Djalon in Guinea. Fonio is also grown in Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Senegal. The name comes from the Wolof word *foño*. While many species of crabgrass exist in the *Digitaria* genus, only a few are grown for their grains. Fonio is a small, annual herbaceous plant. It belongs to the grass family known as Poaceae.

The plant grows using a specialized biological process called C4 carbon fixation. This process helps the plant stay tolerant during dry periods. Fonio is very well adjusted to harsh environments and poor soils. Its root system is quite deep and can extend more than one meter into the ground. This depth helps the plant survive during droughts. The plant has an inflorescence, which is a cluster of flowers. This cluster contains two or three racemes, or flower stalks. Each raceme has spikelets grouped in twos, threes, or fours. These spikelets contain a sterile flower and a fertile flower that produces the actual grain.

There are two distinct types of fonio cultivated in West Africa. The first is white fonio, or *Digitaria exilis*. This is the most economically important variety. It is sometimes called "hungry rice" by Europeans because it matures so quickly. The second type is black fonio, or *Digitaria iburua*. This variety is grown in countries like Nigeria, Togo, and Benin. Black fonio contains considerably more protein than white fonio. While white fonio is a major commercial crop, black fonio is mostly grown in rural communities and is rarely sold in cities.

Growing fonio involves a specific sequence of labor-intensive steps. First, the land is ploughed by men using hands, animal traction, or tractors. Next, women generally sow the seeds by hand depending on the rainy season. Because the plants are weak competitors against weeds early on, weeding is a necessary step. The plants grow very fast, with some reaching maturity in only eight weeks.

During the harvest, workers use knives or sickles to cut the straws. This can be difficult work that often causes wounds on the hands. After cutting, women gather the sheaves into stacks to dry. The threshing process involves trampling the plants or beating them with sticks or rods.

Processing the grain is the most time-consuming stage because the seeds are so small. After threshing, the grains are still trapped inside a husk. Traditional methods for dehusking include pounding the grain in a mortar with sand. Some groups, like the Akposso, use a technique called "popping" over a flame. This results in a grain with a toasted color.

Gender roles are very clear during this production. Women handle weeding, threshing by trampling, cleaning, and drying. Men typically handle the harvest and threshing by beating. About half of all cultivation tasks are performed exclusively by women.

How you cook the grain changes its nutritional value. For example, the carbohydrate content stays higher if you precook the grain rather than roast it. Roasting increases the lipid, or fat, content of the grain. However, milling the grain can lower the protein content because the bran is removed. The highest protein and mineral levels, such as iron and zinc, are found in parboiled fonio. Parboiling changes the color of the grain, which some consumers do not like. Despite this, parboiling is often considered the best method for nutrition.

Fonio has moved from being a local staple to a global product. In 2019, Guinea produced over 75% of the world's fonio. The global market for the grain was estimated at 721,400 tonnes in 2020. In 2017, the company Yolélé Foods began importing fonio to the United States.

In the European Union, the Commission approved fonio as a "novel food" in 2018. This allowed companies to create new products like fonio pasta. EU imports grew from 172 metric tonnes in 2016 to 422 metric tonnes by 2021. This growth shows how the world is becoming more interested in this ancient grain.