The Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, known worldwide as a miracle of nature, is surrounded by fields with high salinity and barren lands devoid of major crops. Quinoa is an extremely rare crop that grows in such a severe environment and has recently attracted attention as a “superfood”. It is also one of the so-called “orphan crops” which receives less attention in terms of breeding. JIRCAS is embarking on a project aimed at developing improved and high value-added quinoa varieties and clarifying the mechanism of crops that adapt to severe environment and climate conditions in order to gain insights into breeding strategies as countermeasures against climate change.