Food security: Call for promoting quinoa cultivation

FAISALABAD:

Agriculture faculty of the University of Faisalabad arranged a workshop on “production and marketing aspects of quinoa in Pakistan”, where the speakers unanimously called on scientists and stakeholders to ensure food security in the country.

They stressed the need for promoting highly resistant crops to utilise maximum land resources.

“Quinoa can be cultivated in drought-stricken or salinity-hit areas. The demand for its gluten-free food is increasing worldwide. In the United States alone, its demand is worth $43 million,” said Faculty of Agriculture Dean Professor Dr Muhammad Arshad.

The country had the potential to tap the international market by promoting quinoa cultivation, said the speakers, underscoring the need for developing a proper marketing system to sell it in Europe and the US.

They called for adopting modern techniques for storage of seeds to enhance productivity.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 31^st, 2014.

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