Quinoa: an ancient highland crop to contribute to world food security
A vegetable food rich in all the essential amino-acids, minerals and vitamins, Quinoa is a crop with high potential to contribute to food security. Nutritional quality, genetic variability, adaptability to adverse climate and soil conditions and low production cost, are the main characteristics which make Quinoa a versatile crop that can be grown in various Regions worldwide.
Quinoa: an ancient highland crop to contribute to world food security
A vegetable food rich in all the essential amino-acids, minerals and vitamins, Quinoa is a crop with high potential to contribute to food security. Nutritional quality, genetic variability, adaptability to adverse climate and soil conditions and low production cost, are the main characteristics which make Quinoa a versatile crop that can be grown in various Regions worldwide.
Originally cultivated in Latin America, Quinoa has been produced, in the past few years, in other continents, especially in those countries where the population does not have access to protein sources or where production conditions are limited by low humidity, reduced available inputs and aridity. This crop has an extraordinary ability to adapt to different agro-ecological zones and can be grown in low lying areas at sea level up to 4000 meters above sea level, in temperatures from -8 to 38 degrees C.
In recognition of the multiple values of Quinoa, the General Assembly of the United Nations has declared, during its 67th session held last Monday in New York, the year 2013 as the “International Year of Quinoa”. The decision pays tribute to the nutritional value of this old “golden grain” which has a significant strategic value for the food and nutritional security of humanity.
The UN General Assembly invited the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to facilitate the observance of the International Year of Quinoa, in collaboration with governments, relevant UN System agencies, indigenous peoples’ organizations and NGOs. Within this context, the Bolivian President Evo Morales was appointed as the FAO’s Special Ambassador for the International Year of Quinoa at the opening of the Governing Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) on June 11, 2012, and alongside a special session on Quinoa.
The promotion of Quinoa by FAO is part of an overall strategy to reclaim traditional or forgotten crops as a mean to combat hunger, provide food security and nutrition, eradicate poverty with the aim of achieving the internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals.
Originally cultivated in Latin America, Quinoa has been produced, in the past few years, in other continents, especially in those countries where the population does not have access to protein sources or where production conditions are limited by low humidity, reduced available inputs and aridity. This crop has an extraordinary ability to adapt to different agro-ecological zones and can be grown in low lying areas at sea level up to 4000 meters above sea level, in temperatures from -8 to 38 degrees C.
In recognition of the multiple values of Quinoa, the General Assembly of the United Nations has declared, during its 67th session held last Monday in New York, the year 2013 as the “International Year of Quinoa”. The decision pays tribute to the nutritional value of this old “golden grain” which has a significant strategic value for the food and nutritional security of humanity.
The UN General Assembly invited the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to facilitate the observance of the International Year of Quinoa, in collaboration with governments, relevant UN System agencies, indigenous peoples’ organizations and NGOs. Within this context, the Bolivian President Evo Morales was appointed as the FAO’s Special Ambassador for the International Year of Quinoa at the opening of the Governing Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) on June 11, 2012, and alongside a special session on Quinoa.
The promotion of Quinoa by FAO is part of an overall strategy to reclaim traditional or forgotten crops as a mean to combat hunger, provide food security and nutrition, eradicate poverty with the aim of achieving the internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals.
01/11/2012