Andean Group - June 2012 (ISSN 1741-4466)

Quinoa: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has appointed President Morales Special FAO Ambassador for the International Year of Quinoa (2013). The profile of the so-called “golden grain of the Andes”, of which Bolivia is the main producer, has risen in recent years given both its nutritional value – it is the only plant food that has all the essential amino acids, trace elements and vitamins – as well as its extraordinary ability to adapt. The head of Bolivia’s national forestry and agricultural innovation institute (Iniaf), Lucio Villca, recently said that this year, some 69,972 hectares (ha) of quinoa had been planted in Bolivia, almost double the 35,000 planted in 2005. Villca said total production will be 44,000t, up from the 20,366t produced last year and 7,750t produced in 2006. Morales said that revenue from quinoa reached US$63.4m in 2011, up from US$8.9m in 2006.

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