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Introduction:
Cereals are grass that produce edible grains for foods. This loose definition can serve the purpose of their discussion. Cereals are also crop plants that are cultivated across the world. As a crop and plant, cereal has been cultivated, protected and selected by human beings across time. They are some of the more successful crops in the world. Of late, coarse grains such as beans, and others like Soya beans and pulse are included.
In this definition, a number of reasons can be given for their success as crops. Primarily, they are grasses and can grow well in any environment. Secondly, they serve as food, and are easily converted into many food forms. In addition, their multiplication value is very high: a small grain develops into a crop that yields several times its weight in grains and fodder. They are easy to cultivate, as large sole crops or in mixtures with other crops. Finally, and may be, most importantly, they have genetic attributes which lend them to easy improvement and manipulation for human purpose: this is in addition to easy transportation and storage over time.
Among cultivated cereals are wheat, barley, oats and rye; others include rice, maize, sorghum and millet. There are wild forms- most of which are unknown. Human beings have succeeded in creating one known form (Triticale) by crossing different species of cereals.
Distribution in the world:
We can divide the world into temperate, sub-tropical and tropical regions. There are cereals that are primarily adopted in each region of the world. Among the temperate cereals are wheat, barley, rye and oats: some of these can withstand very low temperatures. There are, for instance, some wheat types called winter wheat and spring wheat. Winter wheat is planted before winter when the temperature begins to warm up again. Winter wheat withstands the cold winter months to grow and mature during the warmer ones.
Maize is the most successful tropical crop adapted to sub-tropical conditions. It is cultivated during the summer months of some temperate countries, where summer temperatures are warm enough.Nigeria made desperate efforts to grow wheat some years
back. The efforts were largely successful, in that researchers found varieties of wheat adoptable to some of our Northern environments: these environments have wide temperature differentials.
Sorghum, millet, maize and rice are the most important cereals in Nigeria, in that order; rice is catching up. Millet is the cereal of the dryer regions with little rainfall. Sorghum crops are the cereal of the savannah and stretch into the sub-humid environments. In Nigeria, you may find sorghum crops north of Nsukka in Enugu Nigeria. Maize and rice are crops of the humid tropic- areas with high rainfall, swamps and areas with or without water for irrigation. Rice can grow in upland areas, such as those suitable for maize. This type is called up-land rice. The other types that grown in swamps, requiring lots of water are called swamp rice. While maize is found across Nigeria's upland and irrigated lands, rice also grows well where ever there is adequate water/irrigation.
Historical Importance:
Cereals are associated with food and drinks throughout the history of humanity. This close association with people's lives may have been because cereals are easy to transport, to store, and are adoptable to varied environments. They are also found to be parts of various cultural ceremonies among the older system/customs of the world. This may be
due to the enormous inter and intra specific and varietal differences in their shapes, colours and uses. They form natural parts of shrines, of worship and of varied fertility rites. This may be due to the ease with which they are fermented into alcoholic forms. Reference to bread in the bible was to cereal types. The unleavened bread of the Bible exists today in Arabia and Asia. The now famous soup kitchens of Arabia, the Indian subcontinent and other parts of Asia are mostly cereal based.
Uses of Cereals:
Cereals are used mostly as food ( bread and wine ) and feed ( grain and fodder ). As food, cereal cmes in bread, porridge and starch forms: there are breakfast formulations and baby formulas. Cereals such as maize form the main starch food base in large parts of Africa. African countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania amongst others, depend on maize for starch.
Cereals are processed into several forms of (alcoholic) beverages at native and industrial levels. In Nigeria's northern regions, there are "Kunu" and "Burukutu". Breweries are spread all over the country. Breweries depend on malting barley, malting sorghum, on maize and other cereals. Most of them have bans on importation of cereal crops
for production.
In Nigeria, uses of cereals range from "Akamu," "Agidi", to "Nrioka", "tuwo shinkafa" and "tuwo masara". (All foods in Nigeria). There are roasted, boiled corn and pop corn. They are used as animal feed and fodder. In parts of Nigeria, cereal stems find uses in structural designs in the construction of local huts. Cereal grains are relatively low in proteins especially the essential amino acids. They require supplements with legumes and proteins. Most African homes are experts in mixing food types in order to improve
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Henry Ekwuruke
Henry Ekwuruke is Executive Director of the Development Generation Africa International.
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