The FAO's upcoming 2013 International Year of Quinoa is part of efforts by FAO to reclaim traditional or forgotten crops as a means to combat hunger and promote healthy eating.
The International Year of Quinoa aims to raise awareness of the role of this crop in support of food security, nutrition and poverty eradication.
11 June 2012: At the opening of the Governing Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), and alongside a special session on quinoa, Bolivian President Evo Morales was appointed as the FAO’s Special Ambassador for the International Year of Quinoa.
The International Year of Quinoa will be observed in 2013. President Morales underscored the nutritional value of quinoa, and highlighted the role of traditional knowledge and practices of indigenous peoples in its conservation. FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva underscored FAO’s efforts to reclaim traditional or forgotten crops as a means to combat hunger and promote healthy eating.
Quinoa is a highly nutritious, cereal-like crop that is rich in protein and micronutrients. It was of great nutritional importance to pre-Colombian Andean civilizations, second only to the potato. The International Year of Quinoa aims to raise awareness of the role of this crop in support of food security, nutrition and poverty eradication. [FAO Press Release]