A Senegalese village chief holds up the fonio grain. Photograph by Richard Nyberg
Fonio – a gluten-free grain with many dietary advantages – has been cultivated as a subsistence crop in West Africa for hundreds of years. It’s drought-resistant, can develop with out the assist of fertiliser and restores natural matter in fallow soil. Regardless of the crop’s lengthy historical past within the area, it’s not totally commercialised.
Because of fonio’s dietary profile, demand has been rising in areas such because the US and Europe.
One advocate for fonio’s potential is Timi Oke, co-founder and CEO of AgroEknor, a Nigerian firm exporting dried hibiscus flowers to markets within the US, Mexico, and Europe. AgroEknor turned its consideration to fonio after exploring further crops for the hibiscus farmers in its provide chain.
“You don’t want fertilisers for fonio, you may actually simply throw the seeds of fonio on the bottom and it’ll develop … It may well develop on any sort of soil,” Oke stated in an interview with How we made it in Africa.
He talked about a recent article by Bill Gates that highlights fonio’s advantages and notes that brewer Carlsberg has launched a beer made solely from fonio grains, with out barley or bittering hops.
Nevertheless, AgroEknor is primarily taking a look at fonio for the Nigerian market. “We’re extra excited about utilizing fonio as an alternative to rice domestically as a result of Nigeria imports rice and it’s simply not sensible.” But, Oke acknowledged one of many key challenges with fonio: its processing. The grain requires dehusking, which is a labour-intensive course of.
Watch our full in-depth interview with Timi Oke: Entrepreneur turns Nigerian superfood into a global export business