Mexico Advances Sustainable Amaranth Production

As part of the World Food Forum 2025, Mexico reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable and inclusive agriculture, highlighting amaranth as its national priority, under the FAO’s One Country, One Priority Product (OCOP), for its nutritional, cultural, and environmental value.

Rubén Irvin Rojas, General Coordinator for Information, Intelligence and Evaluation, SADER, presented Mexico’s progress during the first phase of the OCOP Initiative. He highlighted that amaranth was selected as Mexico’s national priority product due to its nutritional, cultural, and environmental value, as well as its potential to contribute to food sovereignty, the agroecological transition, and rural well-being.

Launched by FAO in 2021, the One Country, One Priority Product (OCOP) Initiative encourages each country to identify an agricultural product with comparative advantages and develop it sustainably by integrating the entire value chain, from production to consumption.

“With FAO’s support, we are advancing toward stronger cooperation capable of translating science into policy and policy into well-being for rural communities. Amaranth, small in size but great in meaning, symbolizes the connection between our roots and a shared future of resilience, well-being, and solidarity,” Rojas emphasized.

The initiative is supported by the National Institute of Forestry, Agricultural and Livestock Research (INIFAP), Colpos, and Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo (UACh). These institutions validated agroecological technology packages in five states, providing evidence of organic soil management and climate resilience.

Other achievements include the establishment of 13 Farmer Field Schools involving 282 producers, including indigenous communities; the characterization of 44 native accessions; and the development of four new high-protein amaranth lines adapted to different agroecological regions. Additionally, five State Committees for the Amaranth Product System were created, bringing together producers, academia, communities, and local governments.

On the other hand, SADER identified structural challenges such as limited links between research and field adoption, low diversification toward value-added products, and the need to strengthen amaranth’s inclusion in institutional food and public procurement programs.

During the program’s second phase, with FAO’s technical support and South–South cooperation with China, efforts will focus on strengthening sustainable production, promoting value addition, and integrating amaranth into national nutrition and food sovereignty programs.

In line with these actions, Mexico hosted the Second Latin American Amaranth Dialogue on Oct. 17–18, bringing together government representatives, producers, academics, and international organizations from Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, and China to enhance scientific and commercial cooperation around this crop.

The OCOP amaranth project aligns with Mexico’s 2025–2030 Sectoral Program for Agriculture and Rural Development and the 2025–2030 National Development Plan, both aimed at fostering development with well-being, social justice, and sustainability. It is also consistent with the FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031, promoting better production through agroecological practices and local capacity building.

Amaranth is native to Mesoamerica, with at least 11 species found in Mexico across temperate, warm, humid, and dry regions. Its resistance to drought and heat gives it a significant advantage, allowing it to thrive in areas with low rainfall where staple crops often struggle. It is primarily cultivated in the central and southern region, in states like Puebla, Tlaxcala, Mexico State, Morelos, Mexico City, Oaxaca, and Hidalgo, with approximately 5.4t harvested nationwide in 2023.