International Year of the Quinoa AIQ-2013

Quinoa Crops

The year 2013 has been declared by the United Nations as the “International Year of the Quinoa” (AIQ for its Spanish acronym) in recognition of the Andean peoples who have maintained, controlled, protected and preserved quinoa as primary food for present and future generations.

AIQ’s mission is to raise awareness to the world about the important role of this Andean crop production and to promote the quinoa as nutritional alternative because of all the essential amino acids, trace elements and vitamins it has.

The AIQ was proposed by the government of Bolivia, with the support of Argentina, Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Georgia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, as well as the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). (MZ)