Fonio, known to be the smallest and oldest form of millet grown in sub-Saharan Africa, has remained relatively poor of research despite its nutritional, sociocultural, agroecological, therapeutic and economic potentials. Based on systematic literature review, this critical study showed that fonio genetic breeding progress is at a low level. Genetic resources are threatened by erosion, particularly extra-early cultivars of Digitaria exilis, and mainly D. iburua species have practically disappeared in some cultivation countries including Benin. Varietal environment is characterized by lack of improved varieties and seeds, so that cultivars are ecotypes derived from natural selection often with low yields. Seeds, very tiny, are generally heterogenous, in polyvarietal mixtures because of unimproved systems and management by farmers. These ecotypes are susceptible to stem lodging and seed shattering. An exhaustive list of fonio genetic resources from West and Central Africa into catalog remains to be documented. There is a need for regional and international networking of fonio researchers with institutional support for harmonizing germplasm characterization methods, will facilitate descriptors development for all countries. It is necessary to consider in this work wild relative species that have potential genes of resistance/tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress. Starting from autogamy and apomixis revealed on fonio, homogenization program using pureline and mass selection of cultivars could enable rapid release of homogeneous and higher yielding materials to farmers and processors. Development of early and yielded varieties, with upright stem and coarse grains, resistant to lodging, shattering, and facilitating mechanical harvesting would enhance effective production revival.

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Rice varieties developed through the inter-specific crosses between Asian (Oryza sativa L.) and African cultivated rice (O. glaberrima Steud.) have contributed to yield enhancement of African rice. However, the genetic diversity and genetic structure of the African varieties have rarely been reported. In this study, we characterized 40 rice varieties including rice released in Africa based on eleven yield related agronomic traits and 96 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. They were grouped into three categories based on the cluster analysis using agronomic traits. Meanwhile, they were grouped into two distinct clusters, indica- and japonica-type, based on the genetic distance using 96 SNP markers. CG14, which belongs to O. glaberrima, was found to be an admixture type between indica and japonica. The number of secondary branches (SBs) was the only agronomic trait which was significantly different between two groups. The results of this study provide basic agronomic and genomic information of cultivated and tested rice varieties for Africa, that would be helpful for further rice varietal improvement in Africa.

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