Traditional African Cereal Grains - Overview

INTRODUCTION Africa is the centre of origin and still today the major producing area for several cereal crops, notably sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, teff, fonio and African rice. These traditional African cereals are sometimes called “Orphan Crops”, or even “Lost Crops” (National Research Council, 1996). This is despite the fact that they are staple foods for millions of people in the semi-arid regions of the world, particularly in Africa and India, and especially particularly those who live by subsistence farming. Table 1 lists most of these African cereal grains, although the list is certainly incomplete, as others such as Ethiopian barley and oats are cultivated on a very limited scale and some are simply collected as wild seeds (National Research Council, 1996).