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Cuzco, Peru. In the Peruvian Andes kiwicha is returning to farmers' fields after being absent since the time of the Incas. In some places (for example, Limatambo), farmers have switched to kiwicha because its resistance to drought and pests makes it more profitable than the crops grown previously. Every market in the Cuzco area now carries the tasty and nutritious grain. (N. Vietmeyer)

crops. Now kiwicha (as well as other amaranths) is undergoing a renaissance, and in the last few years this ancient grain is returning to compete with modern crops (see page 125).

In other parts of the world, amaranths have caught the imagination of farmers as well. About 500 hectares of amaranth (Mexican species) were grown in the United States in 1987 and the harvest was sold to bakeries and food markets. Indeed, cookies and breakfast foods made of amaranth are already in health food stores and some supermarkets from New York to San Francisco. Given research, kiwicha might also find a place in world agriculture, although so far it has not performed as well in the northern hemisphere as the Mexican species.