I was once in a swanky Westminster bar advising a senior civil servant - the one who was responsible for the UK drugs strategy - what to do regarding opium growing in Afghanistan.
The problem was: he said - the farmers in Afghanistan depend on the income of the opium poppy. The solution was: a replacement crop or source of income. But the problem is: what? He elaborated that Afghanistan is actually a pretty tough growing climate, and poppies do really well there.
I said. "Friend, I've got two words for you. Specialty grains."
He looked at me as if I were mad or drunk. (To be fair, I was at least one of these.) I elaborated - quinoa, grown in the Andes (a landscape like Mars) has all kinds of health benefits, but it's hard to find and people will pay a premium for the stuff. Same could be said for amaranth. I explained how they could introduce the crop, set up co-operatives and promote these grains in the UK and US markets - which could really take off as people start to become more health concious. And sure, it's not quite as glamourous or lucrative as opium poppies, but it would be a pretty good source of income with a little forethought and support.
And what happened? Nada. Bupkiss. Zip.
And Taliban heroin has flooded the global (and especially European) markets.
I really should be in charge.
-0-
I flashed back to this incident because of Kathy's quinoa recipe post.
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4 comments:
I've been cooking quinoa for a couple of years - it's fab. And yeah, we ended up eating a whole lot of it in Peru!
Excellent ideas, too bad people don't want to try things they're not familiar with. I'll bet if he ever had tasted things made from the grain he would have made a different decision.
It makes the most delicious bread. I remember the food the most, the bread, the butter, the asparagus and the tangerines. I wonder if the butter was from llamas? VolMom
I hope they learn how to pronounce it before they start to support its cultivation in Afghanistan. I heard a server in Dublin pronounce it "ken-o-uh".
But that's a really good idea.
Well, I don't think it would solve the whole problem - but it seems worth checking out. It's a relatively high value crop - that and growing opium for medical morphine ought to do something
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