White fonio (Digitaria exilis) is the most important of a diverse group of wild and domesticated Digitaria species that are harvested in the savannas of west Africa. Fonio is the smallest of all species of millet. It is one of the primary cereals of southern Sudan and Ethiopia in Africa. According to the mythology of the Dogon people of Mali, among whom it is known as po, 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". Species See text Digitaria is a genus of about 300 species of grass (family Poaceae) native to tropical and warm temperate regions. ... Pearl millet in the field Ripe head of proso millet For other uses, see Millet (disambiguation). ... Oats, barley, and some products made from them Cereal crops are mostly grasses cultivated for their edible grains or seeds (actually a fruit called a caryopsis). ... Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. ... The Dogon village of Banani. ... Amma has several meanings: Amma means mother in all Dravidian languages Amma means mother in some Sino-Tibetan languages Fonio for Amma, the supreme creator according to the Dogon people of Mali Ríg for Amma the ancestress of the thralls or serfs in Norse mythology Mata Amritanandamayi, who is...

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.

The small grains make it difficult and time-consuming to remove the husk. However, the invention of a simple fonio husking machine has made this far easier. The term husk is mostly used to refer to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. ... A Fonio husking machine was invented by Sanoussi Diakité, a Senegalese mechanical engineer. ...

Black fonio (Digitaria iburua) is a similar crop grown in Nigeria, Togo, and Benin. Raishan (D. compacta) is a minor cereal, only grown in the Khasi hills of northeast India, with glutinous flour used to make bread or porridge.

References

• National Academy of Sciences (1996). The lost crops of Africa. 1. Grains. National Academies Press. ISBN 0-309-04990-3.
• Fonio: an African cereal. CIRAD. Retrieved on Jan 10, 2006.
• Danladi Dada Kuta, Emmanuel Kwon-Ndung, Stephen Dachi, Mark Ukwungwu and Emmanuel Dada Imolehin (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.