The Government delegate in Castilla y León, Virginia Barcones, has closed today, February 7, in Valladolid the act of delivery of the first edition of the ‘Golden Potato Awards of Castilla y León’. This contest, organized by the UPA-COAG Alliance, tries to value the culinary conditions of this tuber, for which a test of cooking and tasting dishes with potatoes as the protagonist has been organized.
The act took place at the IES Diego de Praves in Valladolid, where his cooking students were in charge of preparing the potatoes for the competition in the four modalities of the competition: frying, cooking, mashing and stewing. Each participant might present his product for one or several modalities, depending on the conditions that he considered that he had his potato. The essential requirement was that the potato had its origin in Castilla y León and demonstrate traceability, with the aim of being able to identify the best culinary qualities of each production area and each type of potato.
Accompanied by the Government sub-delegate in Valladolid, Alicia Villar, the Government delegate in Castilla y León congratulated the winners for the “quality” of the dishes prepared, and thanked the organizers for holding this event, since it has considered, “allows us to value a product in which in Castilla y León we are a national reference”. In addition, she has pointed out, “recognizes the entire process, from the field to the table, since the entire chain is represented here.”
“This contest promotes the work carried out by potato producers in Castilla y León, by suppliers of high-quality seed potatoes, and by marketing companies. This contest serves to value all their work. But, in addition, it allows the promotion of a quality product of the first order, which is the basis of practically all Castilian and Leonese and Spanish homes. It is also an opportunity to vassess the growing conditions of this product in Castilla y León”, he has justified.
In addition, the delegate considered it “fundamental” that the “Golden Potato Award of Castilla y León” included a “formative, didactic part”, by “involving the cookery students of the Praves Institute in Valladolid, who in the future they will be professional cooks”, of “a learning regarding the product and how to work with it that will be very useful in their professional experience”.
THE FIRST NATIONAL PRODUCER OF POTATOES
The delegate considered that “we have reasons to be proud of what the cultivation of this tuber represents in this autonomous community” and, in this sense, has repaired: “We are the first potato producer nationwide.” In line with these assessments, ha reminded that in the community They are cultivated regarding 20,000 hectares of potatoes, with a production that exceeds 800,000 tons. Most of it is irrigated and a small part is dry. “We are talking regarding the fact that 40% of the national potato area is worked in this community, and 40% of the potato production of all of Spain is concentrated”, highlighted the representative of the Government of Spain in Castilla y León.
In view of these data, Barcones stressed that “we are facing a strategic sector in this community, with more than 3,000 farms dedicated to growing this product.” “We are talking regarding employment and economic activity in Castilla y León and, especially, in rural areas”, he added, to emphasize the importance of agriculture as a “guarantee of life in our towns”. “In the midst of the era of the fight once morest depopulation, tools like this for the sustainability of the way of life in the countryside represent an opportunity for the future for our peoples,” he thanked.
THERE IS CAPACITY FOR GROWTH
The representative of the Government in Castilla y León has opted to look to the future of the field and take advantage of the arrival of European funds to modernize the farms and thus become more competitive and, in this line, has ratified the commitment of the Government of Spain to “continue supporting a sector that is key to the future of our peoples”.
He recalled that “we are also facing a unique moment since the España Puede Plan includes, in its component 3, a group strategy around the field, endowed with more than 1,000 million euros to improve irrigation efficiency, the promotion of the sustainability and competitiveness of agriculture and livestock, and a digitalization strategy”.
“There is a firm commitment to generate opportunities that guarantee the future in the field, to increase yields, to improve the competitiveness of our farms and allow more sustainable production to be obtained. There are options to promote a generational change in the field, and I encourage you to work for it. From the land, and from the kitchen”, has sentenced the Government delegate in Castilla y León.
