In 2013, the United Nations declared the International Year of Quinoa. It gave global priority to quinoa, fostering expectations and highlighting challenges. The scientific studies and articles compiled herein describe with precision the potential contribution of quinoa and its limitations with regard to its cultivation, and promote its consumption in different parts of the world.

The state of the world’s quinoa tracks the “footsteps” of quinoa to determine current sectorial trends in 2013 for this exceptional crop which, due to its nutritional qualities, its diversity and its resistance to drought and cold, has been identified as an important alternative to contribute to global food security, especially in areas where the population has no access to adequate sources of protein, or where there are environmental constraints to food crop production.

In this context, the main aim of the State of the Art Report on Quinoa around the World is to bring together, within a single document, up- to-date technical and scientific data on growing quinoa so as to encourage the dissemination of this knowledge, promote dialogue and debate amongst partners in the development of quinoa worldwide, and generate new expectations for the crop around the world, in view of its contributions to food security and the family farming economy and also considering the inherent risks of uncontrolled

expansion. Special emphasis is given to the need to regulate the use of plant genetic resources, sustainability of agricultural systems and the fair and equitable distribution of benefits from using quinoa outside the Andean region.

This book is divided into six sections comprising currently available data on the various topics of interest related to growing quinoa around the world.