Market researchers say many people are willing to pay a premium for superfoods. But would you really eat algae?

Don't worry: you will not have to scoop it out of a pond or stagnant water yourself. Instead it will come to you as bright green cupcakes or smoothies, surely with a deep ocean-blue shade. Remember that by the time this happens, the world's population will have reached eight billion.

But can tiny algae help feed a growing population, or will it become another strange food fad?

Micro-algae and cyanobacteria are aquatic plants, a kind of tiny algae.

Micro-algae are single-celled. They grow in salt or fresh water and store energy from sunlight through photosynthesis, which gives them their life force.

Cyanobacteria are also aquatic, and these green organisms also store energy from sunlight. But the photosynthesis of micro-algae and cyanobacteria differs somewhat.

Source: BBC Bangla. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.