Lost Crops of Africa Volume I: Grains (1996) / Chapter Skim
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3 Fonio (Acha)
3 Fonio (Acha)
Pages 59-76
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From page 59... ...
Despite its ancient heritage and widespread importance, knowledge of fonio's evolution, origin, distribution, and genetic diversity remains scant even within West Africa itself. The crop has received but a fraction of the attention accorded to sorghum, pearl millet, and maize, and a mere trifle considering its importance in the rural economy and its potential for increasing the food supply.
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From page 60... ...
, is restricted to the Jos-Bauchi [Plateau of Nigeria as well as to northern regions of Togo and Benin.3 Its restricted distribution should not be taken as a measure of relative inferiority: black fonio may eventually have as much or even greater potential than its now better-known relative. PROSPECTS Unlike finger millet, African rice, sorghum, and other native grains, fonio is not in serious decline.
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From page 61... ...
Ok ~ - ~ ! :: : : :::::: :: :::: :: : ::: Fonio has a lacy appearance.
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From page 63... ...
It seems likely to succumb to various fungal and bacterial diseases. However, white fonio does grow around the Cola Forest in southeastern Sierra Leone, and black fonio is reportedly cultivated in Zaire and some other equatorial locations.
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From page 64... ...
NUTRITION In gross nutritional composition, fonio differs little from wheat. In one white fonio sample, the husked grain contained 8 percent protein and 1 percent fat.8 In a sample of black fonio, a protein content of 11.8 percent was recorded.9 The difference lies in the amino acids it contains.
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From page 65... ...
177 COMPARATIVE QUALITY Food energy Protein Carbohydrate Fat Fiber Ash Thiamin Riboflavin Niacin Calcium Iron Phosphorus Cystine Isoleucine Leucine Lysine Methionine Phenylalanine Threonine Tryptophan Tyrosine Valine White Rice Essential Amino Acids Cystine Isoleucine Leucine Lysine Methionine Phenylalanine Threonine Tryptophan Tyrosine Valine 2.5 4.0 10.5 2.5 4.5 5.7 3.7 1.6 3.5 5.5 1000 % 500% 6s0 % > 1000%
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From page 66... ...
Much of it is found growing in semiarid areas. In the Fouta Djallon Plateau of Guinea (shown here)
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From page 67... ...
Commonly, farmers in Guinea sow multiple varieties of fonio and then later fill in any gaps with fastmaturing varieties of guinea millet (Brachiaria deflexa) .'' HARVESTING AND HANDLING Fonio grain is handled in traditional ways.
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From page 68... ...
Some groups dislike black fonio because, compared with the white form, it is more difficult to dehusk with the traditional pestle. The seed loses its viability after two years.
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From page 69... ...
~3 One reviewer suggested asking village schoolmasters to collect seeds of all the different types in their areas. He reports getting outstanding assistance in this way on a project (in northern Nigeria)
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From page 70... ...
The exceptional content of sulfur amino acids (methionine plus cystine) should make fonio an excellent complement to legumes.
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From page 72... ...
Unless this can be relieved, fonio will probably never reach its potential. SPECIES INFORMATION Botanical Names Digitaria exilis Stapf and Digitaria iburua Stapf'6 Synonyms Paspalum exile Kippist; Panicum exile (Kippist)
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From page 73... ...
The women sieve, crush, wash, and steam-cook the fonio; then they dry and seal the product in the airtight bags. The most delicate operation is a series of three washes to separate sand from the fine fonio grains.
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From page 74... ...
It is one of the chief foods in Guinea-Bissau, and it is also intensively cultivated and is the staple of many people in northern Nigeria. Fonio is not grown for food outside West Africa.
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From page 75... ...
FONIO 75 varieties do poorly on heavy soils. However, by working with a range of varieties, one can generally adapt the crop to almost all terrains and exposures; for example, to fertile or unproductive conditions: sandy, limy, gravelly, or pebbly soils; slopes; plateaus; valleys; or riverbanks.
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From page 76... ...
Page 76
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