Economical importance of quinoa in South America and North America

Economic Importance of Quinoa in South America and North America
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Economic Importance of Quinoa in South America and North America
Introduction
Quinoa is described by Jacobsen (2003) as a chenopod with higher levels of protein, iron, and calcium. Being one of the core sources of nutrition among Bolivians, quinoa boasts of its long history as a delicacy of the antediluvian Incas since 2900BC (Fritz et al., 2017). To date, the levels of acceptation of this commodity have increased, particularly in foreign markets such as ha of the United States and the European Union zone where it is considered as one of the potential sources of economic advancement for the developing and underdeveloped countries such as Bolivia. Jacobsen (2017) defines economic growth as the net output of a country as expressed by its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). On the other hand, the scholars reveal that a state’s economic development is determined by being core indexes such as the Human Development Index (HDI) which measures the country’s state of advancement in critical areas such as healthcare, food security, and education.
The trade potentials depicted by quinoa in Europe and the United States, coupled with the explosion in global popularity of this delicacy in the last five years increased the prices of the commodity fourfold (Jacobsen, 2017). According to Bazile, Baudron, and Green (2015), such an increase in demand and popularity of this ancient grain-like seed has increased the levels of cultivation of quinoa in Bolivia, the coastal valleys of Peru, Chile, and Ecuador. Martínez, Fuentes, and Bazile (2015) explain that to date, scholars and breeders across the globe have increased their interests in this potential cash crop and have come up with effective measures of developing varieties that are suited to the diverse climatic and geographical conditions in South and North America. According to Jacobsen (2003), quinoa reveals great potentials in its ability to produce optimal yields in different areas of North America. The current study seeks to undertake a critical analysis of the gains presented by quinoa by underscoring its economic significances in North America and South America.
Economic Significance of Quinoa
The international consumption of quinoa has seen a steady increase over the years. According to Vilcacundo and Hernández-Ledesma (2017), the cultivation and production of this commodity gas grown from the conventional notion of being considered as a crop restricted to the Andean mountains to the acquisition of new breeds with the ability to survive in other mountainous regions of Africa and the Himalayas. For instance, Martínez, Fuentes, and Bazile (2015) explain that quinoa was introduced in England in the 1970s with great potentials in countries such as Denmark, Scotland, the Netherlands Greece Czech Republic and Italy. Jacobsen (2017) reveals that in the United States, mega projects aimed at breeding suitable species have been initiated in establishments such as the White Mountain Farm located in the Colorado Rockies since 1987. Bazile, Baudron, and Green (2015) explain that while the greatest portion of quinoa seeds consumed in the United States originated from different parts of South America, the annual harvest of this product in the US was considered to be 80,000 tons in 2010.
The role of NASA in promoting quinoa
According to Bazile, Baudron, and Green (2015), quinoa is a chenopodium plant that grows to a height of 6 feet in the arid and semi-arid conditions of Peru and Bolivia. However, the crop has gained higher levels of significance in the Western Hemisphere. Vilcacundo and Hernández-Ledesma (2017) explain that in the 1980s, the products of this essential crop were only displayed in small portions as health shops. However, the efficacy of quinoa as a potential source of export in South and North America was realized following NASA's successful revelation of its nutritional importance and its ability to induce an exceptional balance of amino acids in the human body. Jacobsen (2017) reveals that these exceptional scientific findings by NASA played a crucial role in increasing consumer interests concerning quinoa; an aspect that generated an increase in demand for exportation of the product. According to Jacobsen (2003), the revelation led to an increase in Peru’s production from an annual tonnage of 7000in the 1980s to about 45,000 tons in 2017. On the other hand, the researchers explain that Bolivia saw a 7.13% increase in its volume of quinoa exports reaching about 16000 tons in 2010. The increasing levels of demand revealed by the international markets have been of the critical essence in promoting the livelihoods of farmers residing in the Highland areas of Bolivia and Peru.
The increasing global demand is attributed to the multiple uses of the crop. Vilcacundo and Hernández-Ledesma (2017) explain that before NASA's revelation of the nutritional significance of quinoa, most of the inhabitants of Bolivia spent their lifetime as pastoralists herding llamas and sheep. However, as the international demand and consumption of this product increased, the local communities changed their economic ways of life to adopt crop farming. Bazile, Baudron, and Green (2015) explain that initially, the herders were faced with challenges such as abject levels of poverty, low educational attainments, poor healthcare, and demeaned the overall quality of life.
Attraction of investments
Production of quinoa has attracted both international and local stakeholders’ interests in changing the economic status of farmers. Martínez, Fuentes, and Bazile (2015) explain that the pro...