Canahua deserves to come back

In the harsh and unpredictable upland plains (altiplanos) of Peru and Bolivia, cañahua (Chenopodium pallidicaule) has flourished and diversified where few other crops can grow. The grain grows well between 3500 - 4100 m and is highly resistant to frost, drought, salty soil and pests. Cañahua requires little care in the field, but harvesting and processing is laborious. Although the Aymara and Quechua communities who live in the region have been growing cañahua for centuries, the area under cañahua cultivation is decreasing and the future of the crop is uncertain. In the high Andes, cañahua provides a reliable source of food and forage and also acts as a safety net when other crops fail. In the Department of Puno in southern Peru, cañahua is commonly grown alongside less hardy staple crops like potatoes and cereals. Although the resilient cañahua plant is primarily grown as a food crop, the calcium rich leaves are an important supplementary source of animal feed, especially in droughtprone areas where forage and feed is often inadequate. Cañahua's high nutritional value together with its medicinal properties have contributed to its survival despite increasingly unfavourable socioeconomic circumstances. The grain is an important source of protein and has traditionally been a vital alternative source to meat and milk products in the rural areas of the high Andes. Its balanced composition of amino acids is similar to the composition of the casein milk protein and traditionally it is used in weaning mixtures. The grain also has high levels of dietary fibre, iron, unsaturated fats, and sugar.