Processing diagram
As with rice, processing fonio involves two successive operations:
- hulling , which removes the husks from paddy fonio (rough grain) to produce hulled grain (decorticated grain)
- whitening , which removes the bran (pericarp and germ) to produce whitened fonio
Fonio processing diagram
Laboratory trials at Cirad (Montpellier) on different fonio varieties from Guinea with a moisture content of 11-12% showed that the husk and bran make up 23 and 9% of paddy grain respectively. The potential processing yield when making whitened fonio from paddy fonio should theoretically be around 68%
Last update: 14/02/2013 - CIRAD © 2009 (All rights reserved) - Disclaimer stating