‘Quinoa Open Day’ in Sharjah addresses food security issues
SHARJAH, April 14, 2015
The UAE’s Ministry of Environment and Water organised the ‘Quinoa Open Day’ at Agriculture Innovation Center (AIC) today (April 14) in the Agriculture Innovation Center, Al Dhaid, Sharjah.
The day aimed at highlighting the importance of quinoa, a leading agricultural crop that is now attracting significant international interest as a major contributor to global food security.
Quinoa is becoming a strong competitor of wheat products because it is rich in protein and other crucial nutrients.
A healthy food that transcends the grains in nutritional value, quinoa contains more protein than rice and wheat with ingredients that include amino acids, fibre, minerals, vitamins, and essential fatty acids such as linoleic acid and acid Omega 3.
The event is part of the ministry's commitment to encourage quinoa cultivation in the country in order to diversify agricultural production systems.
This is especially important as quinoa represents a strategic alternative that can be used in marginal environments and is an important candidate for the sustainability of agricultural productivity and enhancing food security.
Saif Al-Shara’, Assistant Undersecretary for Agricultural and Livestock Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Water, emphasised the fact that the UAE has realised early on the importance of quinoa in supporting efforts to achieve food security, and has conducted a series of preliminary experiments in its research centres to study the possibility of using the crop as an alternative for marginal environments.
The ministry organised the event as part of its vision to establish a sustainable environment. It was also done in part to implement the organisation’s strategic objectives of sustainable local production and the enhancement of food and water security by creating awareness on the importance of this particular agricultural crop and its nutritional value.
The experiments showed how quinoa has been successfully cultivated in the state due to its ability to tolerate high levels of salinity and its capacity to grow in nutrient-poor soil types such as sand and in dry environments with rainfall of less than 200 mm. This particular crop also thrives on the drip irrigation technique crucial to water conservation.
Al-Shara’ emphasised that the experiment’s positive results further drove the ministry’s efforts to distribute quinoa in local farms for its easy cultivation and to propagate it under the country’s climatic conditions and in nutrient-poor soil. This is intended to start agricultural production in large quantities in order to meet local market needs.
The project puts the spotlight on spreading the best agricultural practices for increasing production among local farmers and determining the extent to which quinoa will adapt to the production and its usage systems.
The project was also implemented to determine the tolerability of quinoa to various levels of salinity and temperature shifts, as well as to evaluate the impact of these factors on growth, productivity and nutritional value levels.
Meanwhile, the event’s agenda also included an educational discussion on the importance of quinoa, its nutritional value, quinoa recipes and particular cultivation methods. There was also another session about the importance of using quinoa as feeds. - TradeArabia News Service