ARTICLE 39 : C A S S A V A .

By S. Olanrewaju Disu .

The cassava, which, like yam, is a root-crop, serves diverse purposes of being a crop that is sometimes cooked for food by man, prepared as meal for some livestock, serves as raw-material for industry, and in Lagos Area, indeed in all of tropical West Africa, it is the main ingredient used in making our most common staple foods, e.g. the farinaceous meals called “fufu”, “gari”, etc. which are eaten by the overwhelming majority of the people.

Ironically, cassava is not sold in every market! The tubers are sold in few markets scattered far apart in the metropolis. However, food items – e.g. “gari”, “fufu”, cassava-flour, tapioca, etc., which are products of processed cassava, are usually available in every market in Lagos Area.

Cassava is scientifically known as “Manihot esculenta, Family Euphorbiaceae”. The cassava plant is a shrub that can grow up to 4m high. It’s stem is interestingly articulated and has large, fleshy to woody tubers.

Historically, the cassava is a native of Brazil. The plant became established firmly in West Africa by returning slaves from the America’s in the 19th century. Nowadays, cassava is dispersed throughout the tropical world.

The importance of cassava and its bye-products cannot be over-emphasized. Farmers, both big and small, agricultural workers, and land-owners, too, take smart advantage of the fact that cassava can grow in relatively poor soil and low rainfall areas. Also, cassava can be propagated by stem cuttings. Above all, cassava can be planted from March to September each year, while its maturity period is between 8 and 15 months, depending on the variety. Therefore, cassava planting and harvesting is done for most parts of the year – thereby providing farinaceous staples for all of us all-year round, barring occasional adverse weather conditions.

A typical product made from cassava is worth mentioning: i.e. the “gari”. The “gari” is a coarse dry – ground cassava flour. It can be made into “eba”, i.e. a pudding made with boiling water. Characteristically, “gari” swells to 3 – 4 times its volume when water is added. This contributes to its popularity as a food, giving a feeling of being replete.

However, cassava is nutritionally low in protein content, as well as deficient in vitamins. But its starch content has some calorific value . Furthermore, cassava is rich in carbohydrates; this carbohydrate is in a gelatinous form, making it easily digestible.

Industrially, starch is produced from cassava. Starch is a very important industrial raw-material. Starch is used in the manufacture of food-stuffs, textiles, paper-products, plywood, adhesives, glucose, etc. Dried cassava roots and peelings provide good food for domestic ruminants, namely, sheep, rams, and goats. Mention must be made of the fact that starch is the standard material in laundering linen and cloth to confer stiffness, and , after ironing, a smooth appearance!


Photo Illustrations:
1. A cassava farm with young cassava plants.
2. Matured cassava plants, ready for harvesting in a farm in Lagos State.
3. Harvested cassava tubers on sale at the popular “Ola Market” in Itire Area of Lagos Metropolis.

By S. Olanrewaju Disu .

ARTICLE 38 : LEMON GRASS.

A less glamorous agricultural product found in our Lagos Area Metropolitan Markets is the “Lemon Grass”. Botanically known as “Cymbopogon citratus, Family Gramineae”, the lemon grass is a tufted, perennial cultigen with monocotyledonous stems as high as 2 meters. However, despite its relative unpopularity in our markets, it is a beauty of a plant to behold in a tropical garden because it grows in tufts – i.e. a small cluster of elongated, flexible outgrowths attached or close together at the base and free at the opposite ends.

All parts of lemon grass are aromatic. This is due to the presence of an essential oil which is composed of citral,myrcene, dipentene and a trace of methylheptenone. The citral confers the lemon taste. Industrially, the oil is widely used in perfumery.

In this part of the world, lemon grass is often grown in gardens, along borders and it’s also planted on embarkments to check erosion. As mentioned above, the whole plant has a strong fragrant smell. In the rural parts of the State, lemon grass is often burnt in houses to dispel mosquitoes.

The medicinal importance of the plant cannot be over-looked. Locally, the leaves are boiled with lime to make a tea that’s used as a remedy for malaria fever. Also, the leaves are boiled with guava tree leaves and taken as medicine for cough. Culturally, there is an ethnic group in the State who invoke the grass in a magical incantation to kill an enemy!

Photo’s:
(A)--- Lemon-grass plant growing in a garden in Lagos Area.

(B)--- Harvested lemon-grass leaves, both green and dry, on sale at “Ejigbo” Market.

Article 37 : “AAPON” – the seed of native mango { Irvingia gabonensis, Family Irvingiaceae } .

By S. Olanrewaju Disu

There is a large tree that flourishes in evergreen dense forests of West Africa. This tree is called “Oro” in southwest Nigeria, the homeland of the Yoruba-speaking people of Nigeria. It reaches up to 35m in height and carries a dense compact crown. The “Oro” tree is also known as the bush mango or the native or African mango.

This tree has a very hard wood which is very heavy and durable; but its weight is said to preclude it from all but the most rugged construction activities. It is resistant to termite attack and is used for crafts-work like traditional canoe-building, house-building and making of pestles for yam-mortars. It is also suitable for planking and ship-building.

Joyfully, an important part of the tree to an ordinary man in the street is the fruit! The fruit is a drupe, resembling a mango, with a fibrous pulp surrounding the hard-shelled nut. The pulp is traditionally used in rural Lagos to prepare a black dye for cloth. The kernel is an important source of vegetable oil, too.

When in season, the fallen fruits are collected in the forest and stacked till the pulp has rotted away. The nuts are opened and the cotyledons are removed and dried. The cotyledons are locally known as “aapon” by the Yoruba’s while the Igbo-speaking people call it “Ogbonna”. They are a popular agricultural product commonly found in our urban markets in Lagos Metropolitan Area. They are used in soup-making and as a food flavoring material.

The soups prepared with “aapon” cotyledons are delicious and tasty. Pepper, smoked or dried fish, some meat and local spices are commonly used in its preparation. The fresh or stored cotyledons are grinded into a paste and then made into soups.

Culturally, the split shells of the fruit are used in divination – if one falls convex side up and the other in reverse, the omens are good! Interestingly, too, there is an area in Lagos Mainland called “Idi-Oro” – i.e. under the “Oro” tree. The area is reputed to be home to a large “Oro” tree very many years ago. Today, the area is occupied by a very boisterous market!

Photo’s:
(A) “Aapon” on sale at an urban market in “Ejigbo”, Lagos State.
(B) A market-woman grinding dried “aapon”.

Article 36 : R I C E .

By S . Olanrewaju Disu.

One of the most important, popular and incredibly insatiable agricultural products in Lagos area markets is the rice. In all seasons, the demand for rice in Lagos area markets is inelastic. Rice is sold both wholesale ( in 50kg sacs ) and retail ( in open basins ). It is the semi-staple diet of most indigenes of Lagos State.

Rice is an annual cereal grass that is widely cultivated in warm countries for its seed that is used for food and for its by-products. Rice is an erect – growing grass of wet habitats. But there are species adapted to uplands, too.

Rice is botanically known as “Oryza sativa”, Family Gramineae- the grass family. Varieties of rice differ in shape, size and color of grains. The fruit of the rice plant is a caryopsis, i.e. it has its epicarp fused with the mesocarp.

Historically, rice has two main varieties: “Oryza sativa”, the commercial rice, is of Asian origin; while “oryzaglaberima” is of West African origin. In Nigeria, we have “ofada” rice grown in “Ofada” Area of southwest Nigeria, and we also have rice – cultivation in the northern parts of Nigeria. Rice is planted in Southern Nigeria around April and May, and between August and September in Northern Nigeria.

The above-mentioned cultivations are however dwarfed by the ones massively imported into the country from Asian countries. Ship-loads of rice regularly bring tons of bagged, well-polished rice into Nigeria through the expansive Apapa sea-port in Lagos, all-year round. Long-haulage trailers are then used to transport large quantities of rice into the “Daleko Market”.

Wholesalers and big retailers will then hustle to buy rice in and around “Daleko Market” in Lagos. Since the market is situated off the “Apapa – Oshodi Expressway”, there is perennial traffic hold-up around its vicinity. It is from this important market that rice is transferred to several urban and sub-urban markets, big and small, all over Lagos State and beyond. Trucks, rickety pick-up vans, motor-cycles and old cars are very much in use. There are battalions of rice peddlers in this market: both men and women!

In our markets, there is perpetual demand for rice. Why is this so? Rice is the most easily prepared cereal in our markets! Cooked rice can be served with any soup. Also, rice can be eaten along with other cooked grains, especially beans. In our society in Lagos, social functions and parties are usually graced with delicacies such as “jollof-rice” and “fried-rice”, which Lagosians are popular for.
Our youngsters are not left behind in the craze for rice-eating. School children cherish “rice and soup” as their mid-day meal- i.e. lunch-break. Office-canteens, as well as restaurants cook delicious rice meals for workers many of whom demand them as a matter of choice.

There is a particular ethnic group resident in Lagos Area who use rice to make a special porridge – “tuwo”. They do use large quantities of rice, too. All sorts of parties – birthday parties, child-naming parties, wedding parties, graduation ceremonies, burial of aged parents, opening of new houses and offices – all these consume tons of rice! Therefore, the demand for rice in our Lagos Area markets shall always be insatiable. Even occasionally stringent government import policies do not deter importers from importing rice at any cost, simply because there is always ready buyers!


PHOTO’S :
(A) : Rice-peddlers outside the gates of the ever-boisterous “Daleko Market”.
(B) : Rice-bags in stalls at the “Daleko Market” – ready for wholesale purchase.
(C) : Rice grains for small-scale retail purchase.

A R T I C L E 35 : G A R L I C .

By S. Olanrewaju Disu .

All-year round, garlic is found in our markets, both large and small, in Lagos State. Garlic serves diverse purposes in our people’s daily lives. It is used in the form of a seasoning – i.e. garlic salt used in cookery; as an antibiotic, etc.

Historically, garlic is a European bulbous herb. It is widely cultivated for its pungent compound bulbs. The garlic is botanically called “Allium sativum of the Family Liliaceae”, the lily family. The Family Liliaceae are native to the northern hemisphere, and are widely cultivated for their showy flowers.

Garlic has a peculiar smell. This is said to be due to the presence of diallyl disulphide, which is a bye-product of alliinase.

Traditionally, some people in Lagos State use the smell of garlic to ward off evil spirits, while some indigenes use garlic to neutralize harmful charms! Furthermore, garlic is used as an antibiotic.

Traditional medicine practitioners claim that garlic is found to lower cholesterol level in the blood. The list of traditional uses to which garlic is put to cure ailments is long : It is anti-diabetic, anti-tumor, anti-hypertensive as well as being good against intestinal worms. In this part of the world, there is great traditional belief in the medicinal powers of garlic. Hence, garlic is a popular agricultural product in Lagos markets.

PHOTO’S:
( A )--- Garlic on sale at the “Mushin Weekly Market”.

( B )--- Bulbs of garlic.

Article 34 : ESURU { The Bitter or Cluster Yam }.

By S. Olanrewaju Disu.

“ Esuru” or cluster yam, comes in yellow, white or pale-yellow forms. It is called a cluster yam when its tubers are bunched. It is also known as a three-leaved yam or a trifoliate yam. Botanically, it’s known as “Dioscorea dumetorum, Family Dioscoreaceae”.
Traditionally, “esuru” or the bitter yam, is eaten with the palm-oil. Nowadays, however some enlightened citizens eat it with scrambled eggs, margarine or butter. Its appearance in markets is seasonal.

The bitter-yam is often grown in hedgerows around a farm and especially on the edges of yam fields – as a deterrent to human and animal marauders. The Yoruba’s evoke the plant in a sinister incantation to bestow virile power.
In the olden days, “esuru”, the bitter yam, is purposely grown at sparse points in farms as insurance against drought or low yield of the traditional (common) yams. Nowadays, however, massive production of improved variety of yams all over the country has counteracted the situation.

Photograph :
Cluster yams at the “Idi-Oparun / Wey Street” Weekly Farmers’ Market.