Lessons learned from quinoa's global interest

Bazile Didier. 2021. Lessons learned from quinoa's global interest. . EWA-BELT Project. Montpellier : EWA-BELT Project, Résumé, 2 p. EWA-BELT General Assembly Side Event: Neglected and Underutilized Species to Build for Sustainable Intensification of African Agriculture: Challenges and Perspectives, Montpellier, France, 14 Décembre 2021/14 Décembre 2021.

Matériel d'accompagnement : 1 diaporama (32 vues)

Résumé : Biodiversity conservation is today a key global concern of the international community with the last (IPBES, IPCC, FAO) global assessments in 2019. This loss of biodiversity places our agriculture and our food at risk. In Latin America, the Andean altiplano is one of the centers of origin or "hot-spot" of the world's biodiversity. For thousands of years, the populations have interacted with the agroecosystems. Quinoa crop has evolved from a complex process of biological, geographical, climatic, social and cultural interactions that have determined its current high genetic diversity. The declaration by the United Nations General Assembly as “2013, the International Year of Quinoa” aimed to draw global attention to the role of quinoa's biodiversity and nutritional value in food security and poverty eradication, in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) knowns as neglected and underutilized species, was considered major crop used by the Pre-Colombian cultures in Latin America for centuries. As a consequence of the invasion and the conquest by the Spanish, cultivation and consumption of this crops were suppressed and thereafter only continued on a minor or local scale. Quinoa has been grown in the Andes for over 7,000 years. After centuries of neglect, the potential of quinoa was only rediscovered during the second half of the twentieth century. Following the International Year of Quinoa (IYQ) in 2013, the case of quinoa was highlighted with the potential to rapidly change its status from a minor to a major crop in the world agriculture, on basis of the role that quinoa's biodiversity and its high nutritional value can play in providing global food security. Compared to the major cereals for agriculture and world food (Wheat, Corn, Rice), quinoa has a much higher protein content (from 14 to 19%). But above all, it presents a good balance between all the Essential Amino Acids, with contents above the FAO recommendations for each of them. Much emphasis has been be placed on the quality of quinoa's proteins for its promotion and worldwide recognition, but its nutritional value is more global. Quinoa diversity, at a continental scale, has been associated with five main ecotypes: Highlands or Altiplano (Peru and Bolivia), Inter-Andean valleys (Colombia, Ecuador and Peru), Salt flats (Bolivia, Chile and Argentina), Tropical Yungas (Bolivia) and Coastal/Lowlands (Chile). Each of these ecotypes is associated with sub-centres of diversity that comes from the surroundings of the Lake Titicaca. And each one corresponds to specific conditions of altitude, latitude and soils and climatic conditions. Considering its origin in central and southern Chile, the sea level ecotype appears as the most adapted to Temperate and Mediterranean environments. With high attention to the Chilean germplasm, the number of quinoa producing countries has risen rapidly from 8 (in the 80') until 125 today. During the past thirty years, quinoa was tested in all the continents and nowadays, quinoa is cultivated in more than 125 countries. Quinoa globalization entails challenges to the countries of origin and these are important to consider for future development. Understanding this reality is fundamental to face the challenges of conserving local biodiversity, developing and promoting new varieties, and cooperating on plant genetic resources exchanges with inclusive processes towards fair benefits with Andean countries. In conclusion, drought resistance, salinity tolerance and exceptional nutritional value are some of the advantages of quinoa to face the effects of climate change in agriculture. But access to genetic resources is necessary to allow the adaptation of an exotic species in new environments. Research plays a central role in the development of quinoa through international collaborations. But, it is necessary to be patient before expecting a commercial production. Adoption of quinoa by local populations is essential for producing it in a sustainable way.

Mots-clés libres : Quinoa, Biodiversity, Crop wild relatives, Challenges, Boom–bust cycles

Auteurs et affiliations

• Bazile Didier, CIRAD-ES-UMR SENS (FRA) ORCID: 0000-0001-5617-9319

Source : Cirad-Agritrop (https://agritrop.cirad.fr/600248/)

Métriques

[ Page générée et mise en cache le 2022-02-14 ]