Development of Quinoa Value Chain to Improve Food and Nutritional Security in Rural Communities in Rehamna, Morocco: Lessons Learned and Perspectives
Agricultural production in the Rehamna region, Morocco is limited with various challenges including drought and salinity. Introduction of climate resilient and rustic crops such as quinoa was an optimal solution to increase farmer’s income and improve food security. This study summarizes results obt...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/2/301 |
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| author | Abdelaziz Hirich Sifeddine Rafik Mohamed Rahmani Amira Fetouab Fatima Azaykou Kaoutar Filali Hayatullah Ahmadzai Younes Jnaoui Aziz Soulaimani Mariam Moussafir Mohamed El Gharous Salwa Karboune Abdelaziz Sbai Redouane Choukr-Allah |
| author_facet | Abdelaziz Hirich Sifeddine Rafik Mohamed Rahmani Amira Fetouab Fatima Azaykou Kaoutar Filali Hayatullah Ahmadzai Younes Jnaoui Aziz Soulaimani Mariam Moussafir Mohamed El Gharous Salwa Karboune Abdelaziz Sbai Redouane Choukr-Allah |
| author_sort | Abdelaziz Hirich |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Agricultural production in the Rehamna region, Morocco is limited with various challenges including drought and salinity. Introduction of climate resilient and rustic crops such as quinoa was an optimal solution to increase farmer’s income and improve food security. This study summarizes results obtained from a research project aiming to develop quinoa value chain in Morocco. The study tackled several aspects including agronomic traits (yield and growth), transformation, quality (nutritional and antinutritional traits) and economic analysis and, finally, a strength–weaknesses–opportunities–threats analysis, lessons learned and development perspectives were presented. From an agronomic point of view, introduced new quinoa cultivars showed higher performance than locally cultivated seeds and, furthermore, the use of irrigation and organic amendment has tremendously improved seed yield by double and three times, respectively, compared to rainfed conditions. Nutritional analysis revealed that protein and phosphorus content remained stable after seed pearling while most of the micronutrients content decreased after seed pearling. However, saponins content was reduced by 68% using mechanical pearling compared to 57% using both traditional abrasion and washing. The economic analysis showed that production cost of quinoa seeds could be further decreased using mechanized intensive tools along with irrigation and organic amendment supply. This study revealed several lessons learned from the field experience and proposed several development actions for each value chain component that can be implemented within a national quinoa program. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:37:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0152193384b9431cb9ed9954e2fbe68b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:37:21Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-0152193384b9431cb9ed9954e2fbe68b2023-12-03T12:27:42ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472021-02-0110230110.3390/plants10020301Development of Quinoa Value Chain to Improve Food and Nutritional Security in Rural Communities in Rehamna, Morocco: Lessons Learned and PerspectivesAbdelaziz Hirich0Sifeddine Rafik1Mohamed Rahmani2Amira Fetouab3Fatima Azaykou4Kaoutar Filali5Hayatullah Ahmadzai6Younes Jnaoui7Aziz Soulaimani8Mariam Moussafir9Mohamed El Gharous10Salwa Karboune11Abdelaziz Sbai12Redouane Choukr-Allah13African Sustainable Agriculture Research Institute (ASARI), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Laayoune 70000, MoroccoAgricultural Innovation and Technology Transfer Center (AITTC), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, MoroccoDepartment of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Section of Agricultural and Food Industries, Agronomic and Veterinary Medicine Hassan II Institute, Rabat 10112, MoroccoAgricultural Innovation and Technology Transfer Center (AITTC), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, MoroccoAgricultural Innovation and Technology Transfer Center (AITTC), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, MoroccoDepartment of Agronomy, Agronomic and Veterinary Medicine Hassan II Institute, Rabat 10112, MoroccoInternational Center for Biosaline Agriculture, Directorate of Programs, Dubai 14660, United Arab EmiratesAgricultural Innovation and Technology Transfer Center (AITTC), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, MoroccoAgricultural Innovation and Technology Transfer Center (AITTC), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, MoroccoAgricultural Innovation and Technology Transfer Center (AITTC), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, MoroccoAgricultural Innovation and Technology Transfer Center (AITTC), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, MoroccoDepartment of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Macdonald Campus, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec, QC H9X 3V9, CanadaDepartment of Agronomy, Agronomic and Veterinary Medicine Hassan II Institute, Rabat 10112, MoroccoDepartment of Agronomy, Agronomic and Veterinary Medicine Hassan II Institute, Rabat 10112, MoroccoAgricultural production in the Rehamna region, Morocco is limited with various challenges including drought and salinity. Introduction of climate resilient and rustic crops such as quinoa was an optimal solution to increase farmer’s income and improve food security. This study summarizes results obtained from a research project aiming to develop quinoa value chain in Morocco. The study tackled several aspects including agronomic traits (yield and growth), transformation, quality (nutritional and antinutritional traits) and economic analysis and, finally, a strength–weaknesses–opportunities–threats analysis, lessons learned and development perspectives were presented. From an agronomic point of view, introduced new quinoa cultivars showed higher performance than locally cultivated seeds and, furthermore, the use of irrigation and organic amendment has tremendously improved seed yield by double and three times, respectively, compared to rainfed conditions. Nutritional analysis revealed that protein and phosphorus content remained stable after seed pearling while most of the micronutrients content decreased after seed pearling. However, saponins content was reduced by 68% using mechanical pearling compared to 57% using both traditional abrasion and washing. The economic analysis showed that production cost of quinoa seeds could be further decreased using mechanized intensive tools along with irrigation and organic amendment supply. This study revealed several lessons learned from the field experience and proposed several development actions for each value chain component that can be implemented within a national quinoa program.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/2/301production costpearlingyieldirrigationmechanizationharvest |
| spellingShingle | Abdelaziz Hirich Sifeddine Rafik Mohamed Rahmani Amira Fetouab Fatima Azaykou Kaoutar Filali Hayatullah Ahmadzai Younes Jnaoui Aziz Soulaimani Mariam Moussafir Mohamed El Gharous Salwa Karboune Abdelaziz Sbai Redouane Choukr-Allah Development of Quinoa Value Chain to Improve Food and Nutritional Security in Rural Communities in Rehamna, Morocco: Lessons Learned and Perspectives Plants production cost pearling yield irrigation mechanization harvest |
| title | Development of Quinoa Value Chain to Improve Food and Nutritional Security in Rural Communities in Rehamna, Morocco: Lessons Learned and Perspectives |
| title_full | Development of Quinoa Value Chain to Improve Food and Nutritional Security in Rural Communities in Rehamna, Morocco: Lessons Learned and Perspectives |
| title_fullStr | Development of Quinoa Value Chain to Improve Food and Nutritional Security in Rural Communities in Rehamna, Morocco: Lessons Learned and Perspectives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development of Quinoa Value Chain to Improve Food and Nutritional Security in Rural Communities in Rehamna, Morocco: Lessons Learned and Perspectives |
| title_short | Development of Quinoa Value Chain to Improve Food and Nutritional Security in Rural Communities in Rehamna, Morocco: Lessons Learned and Perspectives |
| title_sort | development of quinoa value chain to improve food and nutritional security in rural communities in rehamna morocco lessons learned and perspectives |
| topic | production cost pearling yield irrigation mechanization harvest |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/2/301 |
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