Amaranth is the collective name for species belonging to the genus Amaranthus, native to the Americas. This genus includes about 60 species, most of which are weeds. Cultivated amaranth species can be used as leafy vegetables, food grain, forage and ornamentals. The species is often referred to as a “super food” due to its nutritional properties, and has a growing international market in the health food industry.
Amaranth is an annual herbaceous plant with a broad adaptability to diverse ecologies. It is fast maturing and grows rapidly even under conditions of high temperatures, drought and light intensities. The crop is often collected, cultivated and traded by women. It can make agricultural production systems more resilient to pest and diseases as well as climate change and empower indigenous communities, particularly women and youth. The crop is viable under very small acreages with positive returns to investment and thus serves as a promising crop for small holder farmers.
Compared to staple cereal crops, grain amaranth has superior nutritional values. Its grain contains an average of 15% protein, which is highly digestible and rich in lysine, tryptophan and Sulphur-containing amino acids. It has a balanced amino acid composition that is close to the optimum protein reference pattern in the human diet. Grain amaranth is rich in calcium, zinc, iron, vitamins A, C, E and folic acid. It contains twice the level of calcium in milk, five times the level of iron in wheat and higher potassium, phosphorus and vitamins A, E, C and folic acid than cereal grains. The leaves, either boiled or eaten as greens, are also highly nutritious, rich in beta-carotene, calcium, iron and vitamin C.
In spite of such positive traits, amaranth value chains face problems related to cultivation, processing and marketing, constraining the crop’s agronomic and market potential. Inadequate seed availability and quality, sub‐standard agronomic practices, poor post‐harvest handling and processing, and weak farmer organization are key constraints. Amaranth seeds are tiny, making it difficult to process. The commercialization of amaranth is also restrained by inadequate policy support, limited funding and a perception of being a ‘poor man’s crop’.
Amaranth has significant commercial potential. Its seed can be cooked, germinated for sprouts, malted for beer production, fermented or can serve as a starchy material in spirit production. It can be popped or used as flour in different mixtures to make commercial products like bread, pasta and breakfast cereal. Grain amaranth is recognized as a gluten‐free foodstuff suitable for incorporation into the diet for people with gluten intolerance. Amaranth leaves can be dried and sold as a healthy powder, which is also a way to extend the shelf life. Increasingly, amaranth grains and powder are traded in the growing international health food market.
From 2001-2016 the NUS Community has been working in south Asia, Africa and Latin America to enhance the sustainable conservation and use of amaranth. The purpose has been to build farmer’s capacities, enhance value chains, foster an enabling policy environment and to reinforce resiliency through the use of the crop. Key achievements include contributions to the largest amaranth collection in the Andean region from nearly 40 locations. Another important achievement was the development of a prototype of a popping machine with the capacity to process 30-40 kilograms/hour of amaranth grain while reducing contamination levels substantially
Using a combination of traditional and modern methods, the NUS Community identified best practices to reduce pesticide use by 50-90%. The project produced and published manuals on amaranth production methods, the first ever in Bolivia and Peru, which are being used to inform other initiatives. Previously, processing machines were only viable for use by large-scale operations. Now, the new machines are being used by small-scale farmers, empowering in particular women, by enabling them to dedicate time to other activities such as value addition. As a result, they are earning more money and improving their incomes, purchasing power and social status.
To promote consumption of amaranth in the Andean region, the project facilitated strategic alliances with private companies to develop new food products, and to increase public knowledge of the high nutritional value of the crops. Collaboration on amaranth revealed its suitability for the development of specific food products, including energy bars targeted at children in the Bolivian-Peruvian plateau range, where child malnutrition rates are as high as 50%. The bars have now been included as a nutritious snack in the school feeding programs of several cities and have generated around US$400,000 for the amaranth value chain.
Read more about the different phases of our work on amaranth grain and leaves here:
IFAD NUS I & II (2001 - 2010)
IFAD NUS III & IV (2011 - 2015)
ACP-EU Value Chains Project page (2014 - 2016)
