Quinoa in Ecuador: Recent Advances under Global Expansion

Quinoa is a highly diverse crop domesticated in the Andean region of South America with broad adaptation to a wide range of marginal environments. Quinoa has garnered interest worldwide due to its nutritional and health benefits. Over the last decade, quinoa production has expanded outside of the Andean region, prompting multiple studies investigating the potential for quinoa cultivation in novel environments. Currently, quinoa is grown in countries spanning five continents, including North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Here, we update the advances of quinoa research in Ecuador across different topics, including (a) current quinoa production situation with a focus on breeding progress, (b) traditional seed production, and (c) the impact of the work of the nongovernment organization “European Committee for Training and Agriculture” with quinoa farmers in Chimborazo province. Additionally, we discuss genetic diversity, primary pests and diseases, actions for adapting quinoa to tropical areas, and recent innovations in quinoa processing in Ecuador. Finally, we report a case study describing a participatory breeding project between Washington State University and the Association of Andean Seed and Nutritional Food Producers Mushuk Yuyay in the province of Cañar

Parliamentarisation of the CFSP through informal institution-making? The fifth European Parliament and the EU high representative

This article examines whether the European Parliament has been able to use the institution of the High Representative as a lever to increase its powers in the EU's common foreign and security policy. Since it is found that the EP's strategy towards the HR has neither brought it any informal powers nor been instrumental in forcing the proposal of an EU Foreign Minister, a formal intergovernmentalist position appears to be vindicated. Yet from an institutionalist perspective it may be retorted that the few attainments of the EP so far are a consequence of it having a far higher sensitivity to failure on CFSP-related issues than on well-institutionalized European Community policies. As a future Foreign Minister will be better able than the HR to secure some degree of political independence from the Council, this may well lead the European Parliament to reassess its strategy and to adopt a more assertive stance

The European Union's role in the fight against international terrorism: an evaluation in the light of the response to 11 September 2001

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