Quinoa descriptors presented at the International Quinoa Congress in Milan

The UN declared 2013 the International Year of Quinoa. Quinoa is an ancient crop that has been cultivated for centuries in the Andean region and is considered a healthy food due to its high nutritional value. It has a high protein content, contains all of the essential amino acids and it is rich in minerals, fatty acids and vitamins.

In July 2013, Bioversity International and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN released an updated list of the original version (1981) of Descriptores para quinua (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.)y sus parientes silvestres (Descriptors for quinoa and its wild relatives). The publication is now available in English and the French version will be released shortly.

Today, Bioversity International scientist Adriana Alercia is presenting this work at the International Quinoa Congress in Milan, Italy. She will explain how descriptors provide an international language for plant genetic resources data, key to facilitate their exchange, conservation, management and use.

For more information, visit the conference website (in Italian only) and follow on Twitter #Quinoando.