According to a report on NPR, "...would you believe that quinoa is now growing in a remote, mountainous part of Central Asia that British explorers called the "Roof of the World?
Indeed, it has landed in Tajikistan and Kyrgystan, thanks to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, which has become a cheerleader for quinoa. The FAO, recognizing this crop's nutritional quality and its ability to grow in dry and salty environments, has sponsored tests of quinoa in various nations of Asia and Africa."