1. Introduction
Today, more than 120 countries around the world cultivate quinoa (
Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) or try to adapt it to their environmental conditions. The continued expansion of its cultivation in all continents challenges the prejudices of that quinoa is a species, which can only grow in the high plains of the Andes on the shores of Lake Titicaca. After a first boom in quinoa cultivation in the 1990s mainly linked to the demand of vegetarians for products rich in vegetable proteins from organic farming, a second boom in the 2000s was based on the values of fair trade, and, today, we are facing a third quinoa boom at the global level with the production of quinoa in new countries that were not even importing quinoa [
1]. Morocco falls into the last category of the country having initiated its cultivation before importing it for its own consumption. These changes on a global scale are such that great transformations in progress in the way quinoa is produced, the networks related to its distribution and in the ways of considering it and incorporating it into various local diets.
The year 2013 has been declared the International Year of Quinoa (IYQ) by the United Nations. This made it possible to recognize the importance of the biodiversity of quinoa and the high nutritional value of its seeds [
2]. Within this dynamic, quinoa has been introduced in Morocco since the 1999/2000 season and was considered as an important alternative to traditional crops such as cereals, which are strongly subjected to climate change effects and soil degradation due to salinization making quinoa a judicious solution and potential crop that may contribute to national food security [
3]. In this Moroccan context, quinoa is proving to be an interesting solution to limit the risk of agricultural production failure associated with the yield losses observed on traditional cereals cropping systems, which sometimes contribute to soil degradation because of the monoculture practiced in several regions. The fact that quinoa is considered a rustic crop resistant to various abiotic stress makes it a resilient and climate smart crop that could be used for climate change adaptation [
4].
In Morocco, quinoa was subjected to several field trials evaluating the performance of introduced cultivars and the effect of various cropping practices on its productivity. First a collection of quinoa accessions was tested for the adaptation goal in the Khenifra region in the year of 2000 resulting in a selection of 14 accessions, which were believed to be tolerant to drought. Then, experiments on quinoa in Morocco were intensified within the SWUP-MED EU funded project (sustainable water use securing food production in dry areas of the Mediterranean region) where quinoa was introduced and tested in several regions including Rehamna, Rabat and Agadir [
5]. Secondly, research activities were focusing on testing the effect of several practices on quinoa such as irrigation with saline water [
6,
7], deficit irrigation [
8,
9], organic amendment [
10], sowing dates [
11], use of wastewater for irrigation [
12], etc.
At the nutritional level, for some people, quinoa is a new and nutritious food that has recently been found in supermarkets and restaurants and can replace many common grains. Certainly, in many regions of the world, this vision corresponds to reality but it should be known that quinoa was one of the main food crops of the pre-Columbian civilizations of Latin America and remains an important food for the Quechuas and Aymaras settled in rural areas of the Andes, South America. In the Quechua language, quinoa is called chisiya, which means mother grain [
13]. Quinoa provides as much energy as foods used in a similar way, such as beans, corn, rice or wheat. It is also an important source of quality protein, dietary fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids and minerals [
14]. Protein content in of quinoa seeds varies between 12% and 20%; however, it is reported as 16% on average [
15].
One of the obstacles for quinoa seed valorization is its content in terms of saponins because of their bitter taste and toxic effects, which necessitates their elimination. Several pearling techniques and methods are used to eliminate saponins from the quinoa seeds; the wet technique remains the most used one especially in Morocco combined with preliminary manual abrasion [
16].
In this study we provided an evaluation of the agronomic performances of introduced quinoa cultivars grown under different production scenarios and the effect of seed pearling on nutritional and saponin contents. The study also presents a technical and economic analysis of the quinoa production and transformation. Through the conducted investigations the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to the existing quinoa value chain in Morocco were revealed and the lessons learned. Finally, we proposed development perspectives for each value chain component.
3. Discussion
Since its introduction to Morocco in the 2000s. quinoa was seen as a rustic and stress tolerant crop with several potentialities to replace cereals and other traditional crops in the marginal environment of Morocco. Therefore. it was subjected to various trials at the field and pot level in several regions to evaluate its productivity and responses to various stresses. For instance. the finding of this study indicates that quinoa yield was tripled for most of the tested cultivars under full irrigation conditions compared to rainfed. which support the results obtained by Fghire et al. [
8] who found that the yield of Puno cultivar (one of the tested cultivars in the present study) conducted in the same study area (Tnin bouchane) was increased by 236% under full irrigation (100% ETp) compared to rainfed irrigation. Our results are in agreement with Geerts et al. [
20] who reported that full irrigation increased quinoa yield with 27% compared to rainfed conditions. Contrarily to our case. this low increase percentage is mainly explained by the high amount of rain received (330 mm) for rainfed treatment compared to irrigated treatment (245 mm irrigation + 330 mm rainfall). While in the present study quinoa under farm conditions received only 43 mm of rain during its growing season while the irrigated treatment received 200 mm of irrigation. which obviously explain the tremendous increase of yield and other growth parameters as a response to irrigation.
It is well known that organic matter amendment has a positive effect on crop growth and productivity. In the case of quinoa. very few studies are available evaluating the effect of organic amendment on yield; nevertheless. other crops were cultivated under the organic amendment and showed a positive response [
21,
22,
23]. Our results suggest that the ICBA-Q3 cultivar grown under controlled experimental conditions significantly (
p < 0.01) responded to the organic amendment only after applying 40 T/ha of manure while no significant difference was observed under a lower dose. While under farm conditions. quinoa yield and plant height were significantly improved under organic amendment application. Our results are in agreement with Hirich et al. [
10] who found that that organic amendment of 10 t ha
−1 and 5 t ha
−1 significantly increased seed yield by 13% and 3%. respectively. under full irrigation. The yield improvement under organic amendment is explained by a soil content increase in terms of nutrients after mineralization of the organic matter; therefore. the nutrients uptake will be increased. which will result in high plant growth and productivity [
24].
Our finding in terms of seed nutrient content indicates that most of the micronutrients content was reduced in the processed seeds due to seed pearling. which means that they are mostly concentrated in the pericarp (bran) as suggested by Konishi et al. [
25] and D’Amico et al. [
26] who reported that minerals are accumulated in the pericarp (seed out layer) and proteins are mostly accumulated in the endosperm tissues. In terms of mineral content. Konishi et al. [
25] reported that phosphorus is mainly localized in the embryonic tissues. which explain why P content in the present study for all tested varieties was higher in the processed seeds and lower in bran. However. in terms of magnesium and potassium our finding indicates high content in the seed bran compared to processed seeds. which disagrees with Konishi et al. [
25] who reported that both magnesium and potassium are located in the embryonic tissues.
One of the limiting factors for quinoa valorization and transformation is its content in terms of saponins. which are mainly concentrated in the pericarp or bran and need to be removed before use [
27]. The cultivars we tested in this study are classified as bitter [
28]. and the saponins removal level by either mechanical abrasion or manual polishing was not enough to classify the quinoa as sweet. since the saponin content threshold for human consumption is equal to 0.12% according to CODEX [
18]. Our results indicate that Puno seeds pearling using mechanical abrasion resulted in 68% reduction in terms of saponin content. which confirm the finding of Hirano and Konishi [
29] who reported that quinoa seed pericarps contain 67.6% of the total saponin content in the whole grain while the rest is remaining in the seed endosperm and other internal layer. Our results are in agreement with Mhada et al. [
30] who reported that mechanical abrasion allowed the reduction of saponins level from 1.4 to 0.51% for the Puno cultivar. a reduction of 64% of the initial saponin level. Our findings are also in line with Gómez-Caravaca et al. [
31] who reported that an abrasion degree of 20% allowed reducing the saponin levels in pearled quinoa (129.8 mg/100 g d.w.) more than 50% comparing with the initial saponin content in whole quinoa (244.3 mg/100 g d.w.).
In Morocco the quinoa market is very limited and still a niche market. In order for the market to expand. huge effort is required to promote for quinoa and a rise in awareness among consumers about its health benefits. Like other countries. such as Turkey. quinoa consumption is limited to those with knowledge of health foods for specific health benefits. including its gluten free status. Quinoa is not a product “consumed by the masses”. but rather one “discovered” by educated. health-conscious consumers [
32]. The economic analysis showed that under rainfed conditions production cost at harvest per hectare varies from 6650 to 7900 MAD (739–878 USD) for the mechanized and manual production mode. respectively. While under irrigated conditions the production cost increased to 18.445 and 19.695 MAD·ha
−1 (2049 and 2188 USD·ha
−1) for the mechanized and manual production mode. respectively. due to depreciation of the irrigation system. energy and fertilizers input costs. The same trend was reported by Yazar et al. [
32] in Turkey who found that the production cost of quinoa was equal to 728 and 1650 USD·ha
−1 under rainfed and irrigated conditions. respectively. Our results are also in agreement with Mercado and Ubillus [
33] who reported that the production cost of quinoa in Peru varies from 676 to 2604 USD·ha
−1 for traditional rainfed and conventional production system. respectively. with a profitability that varies from 100 to 200% and market price varies from 1.7 to 2 USD·kg
−1. However. in Morocco the profitability could vary from 150 to 500% due to high quinoa price and the use of intensive production systems (irrigation and mechanized tools).
This study presents a SWOT analysis of the quinoa value chain in Morocco. which revealed that one of the main weaknesses limiting quinoa market expansion in Morocco is the traditional production and valorization and the lack of using intensive production tools. Thus. quinoa price in Morocco remains relatively high above middle class consumer’s purchasing power even at farmgate and only rich people can afford it. This way the local quinoa products with a high price and relatively lower quality could never compete with an imported one. which have usually good quality. The trendy nature of the market for quinoa in Morocco has had both positive and negative aspects. Certainly. growers have benefited from the rising prices that the crop commands. though the various intermediaries may reap more of the profits than the small growers [
34]. Another bottleneck in the quinoa value chain is a lack of promotion around quinoa benefits using public channels and social media. which is considered a key point for any new product development [
19].
4. Materials and Methods
4.1. Study Area
The province of Rehamna is geographically located between Marrakech (South). Settat and El Jadida (North). El Kelaa des Sraghna (East) and Sidi Bennour. Youssoufia to the west (
Figure 6). This region is characterized by an average rainfall of 177 mm with an intra and interannual variation (
Figure 7). Temperatures are relatively homogenous throughout the zone. with temperatures ranging from 4 to 46 °C. Prevailing winds are from the North-East in winter and from the West in summer. Warm winds (Chergui) are frequent and blow from the East and South. The total agricultural area of the region of Rehamna is 591.125 Ha with an arable land area of 342.500 Ha (35.425 Ha of irrigated area and 307.075 Ha of rainfed area) (DPA Rehamna 2018).
4.2. Soil and Water Analysis
Table 11 presents the physicochemical analysis of soils at the UM6P experimental station and farm level. Soil texture is clay loam at the UM6P experimental station and sandy loam at the farm level. Both soils are considered poor in terms of organic matter and rich in terms of potassium.
According to
Table 12. both irrigation waters were slightly saline with more salinity and mineral content obtained for irrigation water at the UM6P experimental station.
4.3. Tested Cultivars
In this study ICBA (International Center for Biosaline Agriculture) quinoa cultivars were introduced due to their high adaptation to MENA and Morocco conditions and resistance to drought and salinity [
4]. The origins of those cultivars are: low land. Bolivia for ICBA-Q1. Q2 and Q3 and coast. Chile for ICBA-Q4 and Q5. Those cultivars were already introduced and tested in the south of Morocco (Laayoune area) within a previous R&D project and showed high performance under salinity conditions with an average seed yield exceeding 2 t/ha. In addition to ICBA cultivars. two Danish public varieties were tested. Titicaca and Puno. two short cycle varieties widely cultivated in Morocco and showed a good adaptation with higher yield compared to other quinoa accessions [
4,
5,
30,
35].
4.4. Trial Installation
4.4.1. At the Farm Level
An on-farm trial was conducted at the farm level (Tnin Bouchane. 32°14.6267′ N. 8°19.8181′ W. 280 m + MSL (mean sea level)) testing ICBA cultivars (ICBA Q1-Q5) compared to locally cultivated bulk seeds (mixture of L119 and L143 accession) under rainfed. irrigation and irrigation with cow manure amendment (40 T/ha) conditions in a split plot design with 4 replications (plot size was equal to 10 m
2). Organic amendment was applied along with soil preparation before sowing. Irrigation practices were performed according to farmer usual practices with an irrigation supply of about 200 mm (2000 m
3/ha) for the whole cropping period. using drip irrigation following evapotranspiration demand according to Allen et al. [
36]. Quinoa seeds were sown using a plant density of 8 plants/m² (50 cm between lines and 25 cm between plants). The trials were carried out between 18 February and 30 June 2018.
4.4.2. At the UM6P Experimental Farm
Another trial was carried out in the UM6P experimental farm (Ben Guerir. 32°13.08” N. 7°53.23′ W. 468 m + MSL (mean sea level)) to investigate the performance of six quinoa cultivars including ICBA-Q1. ICBA-Q2. ICBA-Q5. Titicaca. Puno and locally cultivated bulk seeds under Rehamna conditions. The objective of this trial was to assess the productivity of tested cultivars and their adaptation to Rehamna agroclimatic conditions. The trial was conducted in a completely randomized block design with four replications. Plot size was equal to 100 m². Irrigation was applied following the evapotranspiration method according to Allen et al. [
36] using parameters from the existing weather station. Irrigation volume supplied was equal to 300 mm (3000 m
3/ha). Trials were carried out between 21 February and 25 June 2018.
4.5. Agronomic Practices and Seed Yield Determination
All trials were subjected to commercial agronomic practices such as soil preparation. preirrigation. weeding (3 times during the growing period). phytosanitary treatments (application of insecticide treatment against caterpillar in the seedling stage) and plant thinning (keeping only one or two plants per sowing hole). Quinoa seeds were sown using a plant density of 8 plants/m² (50 cm between lines and 25 cm between plants).
Seed yield for all trials was determined after maturity. Quinoa panicles were harvested first and dried in open air. Seeds were extracted using manual threshing followed by seed polishing and cleaning.
4.6. Seed Pearling
The saponin elimination process remains as a critical operation in seed processing. Recently. many appropriate technologies have been developed to remove saponins to an acceptable threshold without affecting the nutritional properties of the seed.
Puno seeds processed mechanically by Benrim farm were polished using a pearling machine that was locally manufactured for a duration of two minutes. The machine operates on a semi-industrial scale with a transformation capacity of 120 kg·hr−1. it is equipped with two motors. the first one is designed to turn a drum with a rotation speed of 750 rpm. The second one is more powerful (3000 rpm) and designed to extract the fine dust produced during the pearling process. The rotating drum is made of 80 cm long perforated stainless steel and has 6 baffles distributed throughout the drum. During seed processing. the speed of rotation and friction (seed-seed. seed-drum and seed-baffles) gradually increased the temperature of the seeds to 35 °C and decreased the moisture from 13 to 10%.
At the level of the women’s cooperatives in Morocco. saponins elimination from quinoa seeds was performed manually with traditional equipment. The majority of valorization units (women’s cooperatives. startups. etc.) used combined operations starting with a dry method (manual abrasion) and finishing by a wet one (washing using water). First. a manual abrasion using a glove against a rough surface (e.g., rubber. sieve) is carried out to eliminate the external coat of the episperm (bran). This manual abrasion operation is time consuming and requires effort; it takes one hour to dehull 6 kg of quinoa seeds. Women’s cooperatives are using a partial manual abrasion in order to avoid losing the embryo and preserve the seed morphological aspect. However, the residual saponin still remains above the CODEX [
36] threshold (0.12% of dry matter) and the bitterness perception is still present. Hence. they add a washing step as a supplementary operation to totally eliminate the bitterness. For the washing operation. seeds soaked with water allowing saponins to dissolve. They use a water quantity of 20 L per 5 kg of quinoa seeds for 10–15 min. This quantity is used three times soaking a total of 15 kg of polished quinoa seeds. Finally, the processed quinoa is dried for 5 h.
4.7. Chemical Analysis
4.7.1. Nutrient Analysis
Raw and mechanically processed seeds and resulted bran of the Puno variety were used for nutrient content determination following the steps below:
After weighing. harvested samples were ground to a fine powder using the FOSS CT 293 Cyclotec grinder (Fisher Scientific, Canada).
The moisture content was measured by drying 100 g of sample at 105 °C for 48 h
Crude protein was determined using Kjeldahl (Buchi, Switzerland, AACC 46–10) method with a conversion factor of 6.25. Micronutrients were determined after sample mineralization.
Representative samples (0.25 g) were digested with 7.5 mL of HNO3 acid in the DigiPrep System (SCP SCIENCE, France) during two hours at 100 °C.
After digestion. the solutions were filtered through 45 µm filters. and the filtrates were diluted to 50 mL with deionized water and acidified (2% HNO3) in order to undergo the analysis by ICP-OES using Agilent technologies 5110 ICP-OES (Agilent, United States of America) for the elements P. K. Mg. Ca. Cu. Mn. Fe. Zn and B.
4.7.2. Saponin Analysis
In addition to Puno seeds (raw and mechanically processed seeds) used for nutrient content determination. the extraction and quantification of saponin content was performed on locally produced and manually processed by the Bouchane cooperative.
Saponin extraction was performed grinding one gram of dried sample to a fine powder and dissolving in 20 mL of 20% isopropanol. The blend was heated to 86 °C for 20 min for saponin extraction by a microwave-assisted method and filtered (Whatman filter paper) for further quantification. Saponin concentrations were measured by spectrophotometric methods as described by Gianna et al. [
37] with minor modifications. The Liebermann-Burchards (LB) reagent was used to quantify saponins. as it is capable of producing a light brown coloration if these compounds are present in a sample. The LB reagent was a 1:5 mixture of acetic acid and sulphuric acid. respectively. Following mixing 1 mL sample solution with 3.5 mL LB reagent. the absorbance at wavelength 580 nm was measured in all samples after 10 min. A calibration curve based on pure quinoa saponins was used for determining the final saponin concentration (mg/mL) in each solution on the basis of absorbance measurements (absorbance = 4.5725 × saponin concentration + 0.0164). The percentage of saponin content was determined on the basis of fresh weight [
38]. For nutrient content and saponin determination. three replications have been analyzed. Pictures of grains have been taken using optical microscopy Nikon Eclipse Lv100nd-motorized microscope (Nikon, France) with episcopic/diascopic illumination that enables control of objectives and light intensity from the camera control unit and automatically detects the observation method.
4.8. Farmer’s Survey
Quinoa field production cost was determined using face-to-face interviews with farmers cultivating quinoa bulk seeds under different cropping systems (rainfed. irrigated. organic amendment and mechanized). Three farmers from each cropping system were selected and interviewed. The following questions related to production cost breakdown were included in the survey:
Field operation costs;
Plowing: deep. superficial;
Organic amendment: quantity. application;
Irrigation system: purchase. installation;
Seeds: quantity. price;
Sowing: manual. seeder;
Irrigation: workforce. energy;
Fertilization: manual. fertigation;
Weeding: manual. chemical;
Phytosanitary treatment: insecticide. fungicide;
Harvest: manual. mechanical;
Other operations;
Post-harvest operation costs;
Yield;
Panicle drying;
Threshing: Mechanical. Manual;
Cleaning: Mechanical. Manual;
Washing: Mechanical. Manual;
Seed drying;
Weighing and packaging;
Labeling;
Other operations.
4.9. Sensitivity Analysis and Monte Carlo Simulations
Quinoa is not yet a well-established crop in the local production systems. A lack of farmers’ experience and the possibility of a shortage of inputs. especially planting materials. could possibly result in greater yield variability among farmers. The economic performance of quinoa will depend critically on the actual yield performance of different varieties and households’ characteristics and their management practices. which greatly varies among farmers. Beyond production. the markets for quinoa are not well developed. Imperfect and non-competitive markets may fail to clear at competitively determined prices. Poorly functioning markets may therefore pose price risks to the local producers. Hence. such variabilities in yield and potential price volatility may alter the results presented under the base-case scenarios (
Table 4). We run simulations of the base-case results to factor in for potential production and price uncertainty.
We first conduct deterministic sensitivity analysis by changing a single parameter. whilst holding all other parameters of the model at their baseline values. In our case. the deterministic analysis was carried out by allowing for a 25% change in yields. prices and total costs to model and assess the sensitivity of net gains for each scenario. While the conventional one-way sensitivity helps determine the scale of impact of a single parameter and its limitation is that it does not proved insights into the probability of such a change (e.g., it does not explain how likely it is for the parameter of interest to take a specific value). Moreover. the deterministic approach fails to take into account the correlation between the values taken by the parameter of interest and other parameters in the model that are held constant [
39].
Unlike the deterministic case. simulations allow for stochastic and simultaneous variations and shocks in multiple parameters using the principals of inferential statistics. To evaluate the contemporaneous impact of variations in yields and prices. we then construct a dynamic variant of the model to estimate all possible outcomes given a probabilistic distribution in yields and prices. Using a Monte-Carlo simulation method. we assign multiple values to yields and prices by generating random numbers that follow a symmetric triangular distribution and uniform distribution with lower and upper bonds. respectively. Note that the symmetric triangular distribution is a probability distribution with a probability density function (PDF) shaped like a triangle allowing for central tendency towards the “most-likely or the base-case value”. It therefore gives due weightage to the mean value in the yield with frequent outcomes clustered around the most-likely value. Uniform or triangular distribution assumed for the price variable. on the other hand, allow for the randomly generated number to take any value between the specified upper and lower bonds based on a constant probability. Hence. any value in the specified interval is just as likely and probable [
40].
4.10. Valorization Cooperative’s Survey
A technical and financial assessment was carried out conducting a diagnostic of the 3rd Millennium” cooperative (a quinoa valorization unit in Rehamna region) in order to assess the technical pathway of quinoa transformation and determine production costs of processed products. The cooperative used Puno variety. which is the most common used by cooperatives and it is provided by the Benrim farm in the Berrechid area where the quinoa price is the most affordable.
4.11. Quinoa Import Data
Quinoa import data in terms of quantity and value have been extracted from the change office database [
41]. Data were first downloaded searching for quinoa as a keyword and processed using Excel software.
4.12. Statistical Analysis
Differences in response variables to applied treatments were assessed using a general linear model with StatSoft STATISTICA 8.0.550 software (StatSoft Inc. Tulsa, OK, USA). Statistical differences were all significant at α = 0.05 or less. The means comparison was based on a one-way ANOVA analysis.
5. Conclusions and Recommendations
In the light of obtained results quinoa was shown to be a potential and resilient crop that could be an alternative to traditional cereals in the marginal area such as the Rehamna region where traditional cereals are not performing well at both the agronomic and economic level. Furthermore. quinoa offers better remuneration and yield under both rainfed and irrigated cultivation. It is also recommended for farmers to adopt mechanized tools for quinoa cultivation and seed processing to reduce production cost and improve their income. The access to those mechanized tools will be easier if farmers are gathered in cooperatives or associations. Quinoa price structuration remains a bottleneck in its value chain in Morocco as quinoa still have a niche market and demand on quinoa products still does not meet the producer’s expectations. Furthermore. production cost of the quinoa-based product such as couscous remains very high due to a high cost of raw material and involved labor force. Therefore. it is recommended for women’s cooperatives valorizing quinoa to have their own quinoa production.
Several scenarios of cost–benefit analysis were conducted to assess the economic viability of quinoa production in Morocco. The results across multiple scenarios consistently indicated that quinoa is highly profitable. yielding a net margin ranging from 21.100 to 111.555 MAD depending on the scenario (e.g., irrigated vs. rainfed and manual vs. mechanized systems). Further sensitivity analysis and simulations were undertaken to analyze the potential impacts of uncertainty in key variables and assumptions. particularly taking into account variability in yield performance. market prices and production costs. The sensitivity analysis showed that output price has the largest and significant impact on the quinoa profitability. However. as is indicated by the results of the simulation. the likelihood of net profit to be negative is neglected with a probability ranging from 0.5 to 2.55% depending on the scenario.
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. which may be funded within the new Moroccan agricultural development plan called the “green generation”.
The Rehamna Quinoa upscaling project has identified the suitable varieties. and the best production and management practices to maximize yields. In addition. the nutritional analysis of the genotypes with the highest potential was carried out. Seed multiplication of the most promising genotypes has been developed with a private local company to ensure enough seeds are available in the market for the scaling up production. On a global scale. the impact of the project on small farmers and the gender issues has been positive in general. as it secures a minimum revenue for the farmers even in dry years. Therefore. it will be judicious to pursue implementing cutting edge research to collect. screen and identify the quinoa genotypes that have the best potential for wide scale adoption in different agroecological zones and marginal environments.
We recommend then to set up support for all players in the sector through coordination of the quinoa interprofession in Morocco supported by the structures of the Department of Agriculture. Additionally. we need much better organization of the quinoa sector. in order to have more visibility to the consumers. This starts with focusing on more development of quinoa on public awareness and promotion-marketing. More research is needed in reducing saponin content in the different quinoa product. which represent one of the current weak points in the sector and it is necessary to remove this bottleneck as it does affect. today. the quality of the product and the entire value chain. Morocco’s situation within the Maghreb region places it in an advance position in the development of quinoa value chain. This should trigger a promoting cooperation within the Maghreb countries. It is also possible to create a Mediterranean or African network on quinoa to extend ideas and research results.