Quinoa – keen-wa, if you’ve been wondering how to say it – could be coming to the UAE. It’s a “superfood”, which is a technical term meaning that people are likely to talk about it in revered tones. It has a reasonable amount of protein (4 per cent) and fibre (3 per cent) for a grain (or is it a seed?). It contains vitamins. It compares favourably to rice. It is rather good for you.
A pilot project, in Abu Dhabi, tested the crop’s agricultural yield. It found that the emirate’s desertscape could produce quinoa in quantities to rival Bolivia, whence it originated. This is good news for people worried about food security: if the UAE must resort to self-sufficiency, there will be quinoa galore. It will worry conservationists concerned about the water- and energy-intensity of agriculture in the UAE: the post-oil world will require farming methods that are efficient and economic.
But there is one constituency who will be pleased. Hipsters of the UAE, rejoice! To quinoa’s other virtues will be added another: it will soon be locally-sourced.