Last year was declared International Year of Quinoa by the United Nations, promoting the virtues of this Andean grain and heralding its potential in addressing food crises. Jam-packed with nutrients, the crop can be grown in different kinds of soil and is not only a food security tool but a potentially profitable and delicious commodity. Can quinoa conquer the world? Scientists at research institute Wageningen UR in the Netherlands are certainly giving it a start, developing new varieties and working in partnership to cultivate the grain in Europe.

Testament to its superfood status is the fact that throughout history quinoa has been held in high-esteem. Indigenous to Peru and Bolivia, it was a vital source of nutrients for the Inca people who treated the Chisaya Mama (Mother Grain) with reverence.

Photo: Emily Barney, via Flickr Creative Commons

Today, many in the western world consider it a trendy niche product and the web is awash with funky new recipes featuring the protein-packed, fiber-rich product.

It's production is limited however, so in a bid find ways to grow it in non-Andean zones, researchers from Wageningen UR have been investigating ways to grow quinoa in Northwestern Europe for many years; not an easy agricultural feat as the grain is usually grown near the equator and is therefore used to shorter days and less light.

Lead scientist Dr. Robert van Loo and his team worked on developing new cultivars between 2003 and 2007, using classic crossing methods to find variants that would be less sensitive to the length of days and free of the bitter substance saponin.

Three new varieties have been established and crops have been cultivated by French company, AbbottAgra, which recognized the merits of growing European quinoa and obtained a license to begin cultivation.

"We did the initial cultivation in the Netherlands bit it wasn't profitable enough for farmers to get the cost price that the end users wanted at the time. So this was quite a gamble for AbbottAgro because there were still questions of would it all work," van Loo told www.freshfruitportal.com.

"The company asked us for rights to grow our varieties to cover the risks because this costs a lot of money to set up and if it proves to be successful then everybody will want to grow it. So we granted a license and things have been moving quickly since.

"This year 1,000 hectares were planted in France. In the Netherlands AbbottAgro has an agreement with the Dutch Quinoa Group to set up a production chain in the Netherlands."

Van Loo added there were around 30 hectares planted with Wageningen UR's varieties.

Slowing cultivation in South America and high prices

Around 88% of the world's quinoa is still grown in South America, but with Europe now finding a way to break into the market, a quinoa explosion is a real possibility.

If international demand sticks, there could be somewhat of a boom, according to van Loo.

"What I hear is that there is still a shortage of South American quinoa and prices are ridiculously high, and that would really hamper the further development of consumer demand," he said.

"The European quinoa can be grown for less so it's possible to have a competing price and then when the price goes down to somewhat more normal levels, that will be good for consumers who really like quinoa in their diet.

"I believe the demand will remain because quinoa consumption has already been increasing over the last five years."

The fact quinoa is considered is considered the latest food trend in some parts of the world is a risk, according to van Loo, but ultimately he thinks the crop has longevity and varieties have a firm place on the market alongside products like couscous, basmati rice or even lentils.

"The trendy part is a risk. But think of it like this. The potato has been around for a long time and I guess that was considered trendy at some point. There is definitely a place for quinoa and not just as a niche product."

Nutritional value

Quinoa is rich in amino acids and fiber, around 15% of each grain is protein, and the carbohydrate content is lighter compared with rice, pasta and potatoes.

"If you substitute part of your starch in rice, pasta or potato by replacing it with quinoa you reduce starch intake so you get less carbohydrates and more protein and a little bit of fatty acids.

"So quinoa is much more balanced in its composition compared with other starch products. It's interesting to consider the use of quinoa in baby food or food for the elderly who sometimes struggle to get protein in their diets.

"The mineral content is quite high and there is also a lot of iron."

Creating more new varieties

In addition to the varieties already established by the university, new possibilities are also being worked on that could manifest in larger grain size and higher yields.

"There is also demand for colored quinoa in the marketplace so we going towards a dark red grain like the variants from South America.

"The innovation we have done is really about the day length sensitivity. We had material in the gene banks in the Netherlands that was already collected in the lowlands of Chile where day length is different and we crossed that with material that didn't contain saponins, on the outer layer where you have bitter components.

"We made that combination and that also became the starting point for making new varieties."

Soil tolerance

Another useful factor is that varieties grow well in saline soils with quinoa persistently continuing to grow in conditions where others crops perish.

Part of the Wageningen UR work focuses on harnessing quinoa's ability to thrive in the saline soils of Chile, China and Vietnam, and it has put forward a proposal to grow in these places as part of the Securing Water for Food Programme: A Grand Challenge for Development.

This initiative aims to source and accelerate innovation in areas that will help produce more food with less water or make more water available for food production, and could result in an award for Wageningen later this year.

"This shows that we are not only going for a European cultivation of quinoa but we want to see what opportunities there are to grow in delta areas of the world where people are struggling with saline soils.

"In some areas there is reclamation of that kind of soil. It takes fresh water to percolate the salt and during that period, which can take years, crop yields are low so it's a costly process that uses a lot of fresh water. But in that process, you could start with quinoa much earlier than you can with other crops."

The crop could also be introduced as a substitute or alternative to rice somewhere like Vietnam, van Loo said.

"Quinoa could be a very interesting addition to the diet in Vietnam which has the highest rice consumption in the world. It's a good crop for everyone but it's a uni-dimensional diet so it’s not very diverse.

"The carbohydrate intake is high but the protein in the diet is low and quinoa could be a healthy addition or substitute."

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