Kenya: Why quinoa holds huge food security potential

In 2013, quinoa was declared the crop of the year globally because it is a climate-smart plant that can withstand harsh weather conditions and give farmers handsome returns. A decade later, this magic plant was introduced in Kenya by the Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO), largely for research purposes with the view to ascertaining its suitability. Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) has now started commercialising quinoa after varieties that were tried locally proved to be viable, paving the way for the introduction of this high-value crop with unmatched returns. Kalro’s director of research Lusike Wasilwa says FAO introduced five varieties in Embu where they recorded impressive results which have now informed the decision for expansion on a commercial scale. “From the field trials that we conducted the variety did very well as we got between 2.8 and five tonnes of quinoa from an acre,” said Dr Wasilwa. Read: Wheat prices to remain high on sharp drop in ...