'Fonio just grows naturally': could ancient indigenous crops ensure food security for Africa?

Calls are growing to invest more in the continent's traditional grains as a way to break its reliance on imported wheat, rice and maizeWith sweeps of his arm, Jean-Pierre Kamara showers handfuls of tiny seeds over the freshly ploughed land near his village in Senegal's southern foothills. A team of young men ahead of him loosen more of the clay soil for sowing, while older villagers trail behind, raking the earth back over the seeds.Only breaking at midday to refuel on peanuts and palm wine, the village works methodically as a unit to grow fonio - a precious grain crucial to their diets that only takes days to germinate and can be harvested in as little as six weeks. Though laborious, growing fonio, one of Africa's oldest cultivated grains, is simple and reliable, say Kamara's Bedik people.Women prepare the evening meal, with fonio as the main ingredient Continue reading...