01 December 2021 - Cañahua is the food of the future, it has a high content of protein, calcium and iron, it contributes to fluid oxygenation of the blood, prevents diseases such as anaemia

and in Bolivia its production and resilient transformation is being promoted with a view toward economic reactivation and support for cañahua producers. In this regard, the Cañahua Strategic Plan was presented at the national level, called the food of the future, promoted by the project Promoting the Heritage of Our Ancestors: Resilient Production, Marketing and Consumption of Cañahua and Tarwi, which is part of the Euroclima+ programme, financed by the European Union and implemented by Swisscontact.

The National Cañahua Network encompasses 10 associations from the departments of La Paz, Cochabamba and Oruro, and its representative, Eng. Trigidia Jiménez, beneficiary of the Resilient Heritage of the Andes Cañahua and Tarwi project, highlighted the support of the institutions and the achievement of the presentation of the Strategic Plan for Cañahua, which will allow it to be positioned, supporting the producers and improving the food supply of Bolivians. "For us the cañahua producers it is a historic moment to be able to deliver this document that has been worked on in the middle of the pandemic, this document represents the living voices of the cañahua producers who have identified their problems in their primary production, processing and marketing for the integral development of Cañahua."

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Cañahua is considered a superfood with nutritional and pharmaceutical properties, and it has adapted to climate change, is resistant to frost, and the challenge for producers is to industrialise it, which will generate added value to the raw material, create jobs and improve the nutritional quality of Bolivians.

     Luis Arce, president of Bolivia with products derived from cañahua  Trigidia Jiménez, representative of the national cañahua network

Currently there are small companies that transform the cañahua into pito, biscuits, bars, cereals and flour. Since 2018, Cañahua pito has been included in the subsidy that has generated commercial and productive dynamism, and this year it has been possible to include cañahua flour. Jiménez emphasised that production must have a close relationship with the market and that the Cañahua Strategic Plan is a very important document that gives visibility to the producers and their product. 

For his part, the president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia said "our policy is to produce, but more important is industrialising cañahua". He maintains that science and technology will be applied to improve productivity and urged Bolivians to consume the national production.

About the project "Resilient Heritage of the Andes Cañahua and Tarwi"

The project promotes the resilience of rural production systems in the Bolivian and Peruvian highlands, strengthening the Cañahua and Tarwi production complexes by improving the production, marketing and consumption of superfoods that are part of the food heritage of both countries, benefiting 1,200 producer families.

More information

Pablo Jesús Rossendy Roja, Communicator of the Euroclima Project - " Resilient Heritage of the Andes, Cañahua and Tarwi", This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Resilient Food Production Sector: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.