The action seeks the sustainable growth of the value chain of Royal Quinoa, with the participation of women and young entrepreneurs in indigenous communities. Sustainability is to be achieved by introducing ecological practices that increase yields and reduce production costs, presenting value-creating alternatives in a more competitive and better priced regenerative agriculture quinoa, and incorporating elements of resource efficiency and circular economy.

Regenerative agriculture is proposed that restores soils, eliminates the need to expand the agricultural frontier and deforestation, captures carbon from the atmosphere and is environmentally friendly. As a direct result of the action's support, MSMEs will be able to access certifications in regenerative agriculture or similar that meet EU market requirements. The main problem is that the entire ecosystem where Royal Quinoa is produced is being degraded, as a result of the deterioration of soil life due to unsustainable agricultural practices, and this is affecting the production, employment and income of MSMEs.

The main challenge of the proposal is to present alternatives for the transition of quinoa production towards a sustainable agri-food system that can then be taken to a large scale and affect the whole area. The aim is for each action to generate direct benefits and be attractive independently, guaranteeing its implementation by MSMEs and thus creating a synergic effect on the whole system.

Implementing consortium:

Coordinating entity:

Partner entities:

Beneficiaries: 

The target groups and final beneficiaries are micro, small and medium-sized enterprises involved in the quinoa business and made up of indigenous communities of small and medium-sized quinoa producers, quinoa processing and exporting plants, importers and customers in destination countries, local consumers, young women and men and their families.

Quinoa producers need to improve their production technology, increase quinoa yields and lower their costs in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Their limitations are essentially technological, they are using a form of production that is out of step with the times and their yields, now that quinoa prices have fallen, are not sufficient to compete in the market. The action proposes to change the form of quinoa production towards a regenerative agriculture that increases yields and restores life to the soil ecosystem, allowing the adaptation and use of existing technology for direct sowing and, eventually, mechanised harvesting, lowering production costs and preserving soil organic matter. This will generate positive externalities on the environment, reducing carbon emissions and capturing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, and on income as the final product will be differentiated from traditional quinoa by implementing value-added products.

The processing and exporting plants, despite falling prices, receive an expensive raw material with many impurities that are difficult to clean and have high costs for solid waste disposal. The implementation of regenerative agriculture measures and mechanised threshing and harvesting technology results in a cleaner product, which is cheaper to process and of better quality. The characteristic of regenerative agriculture opens up new markets and differentiates the product from the traditional one, making this quinoa more competitive, the processing plants can thus guarantee a market for quinoa. On the other hand, by implementing the circular economy concept, processing plants can lower the cost of disposal of their solid waste and send it to the field for composting, which in turn lowers production costs and improves yields.

Importers in destination countries in Europe will have a product that complies with their standards and comes from sustainable agri-food systems, free of deforestation and expansion of the agricultural frontier, that entrenches human rights and environmental considerations in the operations and corporate governance of the companies.

For their part, end consumers, who demand natural, nutritious and environmentally friendly food, will have a high quality product, more nutritious and healthier quinoa, which is not the result of the expansion of the agricultural frontier or deforestation and rather regenerates the environment. Finally, young women and men and their families will keep their jobs and be able to improve their incomes by using more natural and low-cost processes.

In a nutshell:

Region/Cities of implementation	Duration	Total budget	N° of beneficiary SMEs
Southern Highlands of Bolivia	24 months (from May 2024 to April 2026)	€375000	400

Contact this project: