The registration of its local products, "Kolokasi Sotiras" and "Kolokasi-Poules Sotiras" as Certified Products with Designation of Origin was celebrated last Saturday night at the beach of Agia Thekla by the Municipality of Sotiras with the 2nd Tasting Night of Kolokassi.
Distinguished chefs made more than 10 new and traditional recipes based on courgette, which about 3 thousand visitors had the opportunity to try completely free of charge in one of the largest gastronomic events held in our country.
In his greeting, the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Nikos Kougialis congratulated the Municipality of Sotiras for the great success of securing the file of the Savior colossus, while at the same time he did not fail to express his satisfaction that the Certification of the Savior and the production of the product, while stimulating the agricultural economy of Sotira and the province of Famagusta in general.
You will find more photos here
Mayor Sotiras in his greeting stressed that Sotira has associated its name with its local product and characteristically stated that Sotira has to reap many benefits from the international recognition of the Savior colocasia.
At the same time, he referred to the general development that has taken place in the Municipality of Sotiras in recent years, with implemented projects of the order of 11 million euros, with projects in the process of implementation of the order of 4 million and with planned projects exceeding 21 million euros, but mainly with a surplus policy, despite the period of economic crisis, and as he said, characteristically, the Municipality of Sotiras proved that it is not just a financially and developmentally sound Municipality, but an example to imitate for the course and future of local government in our country.
During the event, the chefs who participated in the evening were awarded, as well as the contributors of the Kolokasios Sotiras.
The artistic program continued with jazz music by the band "Electric Cats" and rebetiko program with the Youth Choir Sotiras "Little Rebetes".
The presenters of the evening were the popular TV and radio presenters, Roula Georgiadou and Andreas Dimitropoulos.
Communication sponsor was TIME OUT magazine.
Minister of Agriculture: It is important to register local products as PDO.
The government's effort for the development of the rural economy and consequently the countryside is continuous and persistent, said last night the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Nikos Kougialis, adding that under the difficult economic conditions that Cyprus is going through at the moment, Cyprus has been given special importance in the registration of our traditional products as Protected Designations of Origin and Protected Geographical Indications
As the Ministry of Agriculture, he continued "we are working to secure all our traditional agri-food products as geographical indications (PDO and PGI) because we really believe that in this way we will create conditions for real growth, by supporting new small and medium enterprises, creating employment prospects and improving living conditions in rural areas ".
At the same time, he called on "producers to take advantage of specific measures of the Rural Development Program 2014 - 2020, such as the measure for the promotion and advertising of quality products, which provides subsidies of up to 100.000 euros per three years."
The Minister of Agriculture also stated that "the government's effort for the development of the rural economy and consequently the countryside is continuous and persistent. "Under the difficult economic conditions that our country is going through at the moment, we have given special importance to the registration of our exceptional traditional products as PDO or PGI".
He noted that "through the registration of our traditional products, we highlight the Cypriot cuisine and gastronomy, while we substantially enrich the tourist product of our homeland. With proper and continuous promotion we can add additional value to our products, making them our most effective ambassadors abroad ".
The preservation and promotion of the traditional cultures of our place, said Mr. Kougialis "is the path that we must all follow, we must insist Cypriot, to insist traditionally and remain truly faithful to the roots and traditions of our place" .
Mayor Sotiras: Sotiras associated her name with Kolokasi
Since last month, Sotira has been celebrating the registration of its local products in the European Union. Celebrates the certification of the products "Kolokasi Sotiras" and "Kolokasi-Poules Sotiras" as Products with Designation of Origin. A success that culminates with tonight's tasting night starring Kolokasi Sotiras.
There is no doubt that the progress and development of a city is usually linked to its local products. The great examples of products certified with a designation of origin, such as Kalamata olives, Cretan Paximadi, Katiki Domokou, and others, prove that the special reputation that the certified product receives, also helps the local promotion of the region of origin. We followed the exact same strategy in Sotira, where despite the fact that the production of colocasia exceeds about 85% of the pan-Cypriot production, nevertheless, we considered it our duty to encourage our producers to protect our local product from the fear of gradual devaluation.
The remarkable nutritional value of colocasia, the ease of cooking, but also the love of the Cypriots for a gastronomic product intertwined with the history of our place, all this led to the focus of our importance on the gastronomic treasure of our place and its further promotion.
The historical sources that want the courgette to be served at dinner during the celebrations of the wedding of Richard the Lionheart with Berengaria in 1191 are also known, while it is believed that the courgette was cultivated in Cyprus five centuries before the cultivation of the potato.
In recent years, our Municipality has launched a dynamic campaign to promote the Kolokasios and the Kolokasios-Poules Sotiras, something that has greatly stimulated the agricultural economy, after a sharp increase in demand and production of the Kolokasis.
The encouragement given to us by the promotion of our local product contributed substantially to a further effort for the development of our Municipality. The planned renovation of our coastal front contributed to the increase of tourism, civil weddings but also to the stimulation of the interest for investments, a fact that is proved with the construction of the first five star luxury hotel in the borders of the Municipality of Sotira.
At the same time, with implemented projects of the order of 11 million euros, with projects in the process of implementation of the order of 4 million and with planned projects exceeding 21 million euros, but mainly with a surplus policy, despite the period of economic crisis, the Municipality Sotiras proved that it is not just a financially and developmentally strong Municipality, but an example to be imitated for the course and the future of local self-government in our country.
Important infrastructure projects that are in the final stage of careful planning, such as the renovation of the entire Sotira square, the shaping of the entire coastal front, the renovation of the Municipal Stadium, but also projects to improve and expand our road network, all prove that Sotira no longer remains the poor agricultural village, nor the poor relative of the neighboring tourist Municipalities of Ayia Napa and Protaras, but on the contrary, it is the rising Municipality that plans a rational course of development and progress, focusing on improving the standard of living of .
On the occasion of tonight the presence of the friend of the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Mr. Nikos Kougialis, I would like to thank him cordially for the uninterrupted support he provided to our Municipality for the realization of the dream of international recognition of our local product, which in the past years remained marginalized and unrecognized.
At the same time, I warmly thank the chefs and the volunteers, who prove their voluntary love for colocasia. I warmly thank the Cooperative Society for the Distribution of Agricultural Products Sotiras for the joint cooperation and common vision in securing Kolokasios Sotiras.
Finally, thank you all, ordinary visitors, for helping us get to know our local product tonight.
Thank you and I wish you a good tasting.
SotiraNews