Agroaldea
The Cabildo and Aider presented, along with its author, the book of the "fruit of Gran Canaria".
The counselor of the Primary Sector and Food Sovereignty of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Miguel Hidalgo, presented the guide “Fruits of Gran Canaria”, edited by the Island Association of Rural Development of Gran Canaria (Help Gran Canaria) in collaboration with the island institution.
The guide provides tools and skills for recognition of agricultural biodiversity of fruit tree species in Gran Canaria: location, characteristics, usos, history, etc…, and reference to 19 emblematic fruit trees. They are products of a certain quality, that find their place in today's markets.
“The landscape of Gran Canaria with the trees that appear in the guide is present in our retina”, the counselor stressed, who expressed his satisfaction at discovering that the book presents fruit trees as a heritage of all Gran Canarian people..
In this sense, the president of Aider Gran Canaria, Serafina Suarez, He insisted on the importance of fruit trees in the culture and economy of the island, highlighting the cultivation of almonds. “In the years 60 in Tejeda they collected 600.000 thousand kilos of almonds. That almond had an important therapeutic and cosmetic value, exporting to London in the 1920s.”, recalled.
The objective of the book is disseminate the values of fruit biodiversity, related to traditional agrarian knowledge and heritage, with cultural identity and the environment.
The sources used are documents from the 15th and 16th centuries, such as the ordinances of Gran Canaria., contracts and even documents of the Inquisition.
The publication coordinator, and one of the greatest experts in agricultural biodiversity in the Canary Islands, Jaime Gil, highlighted that The fig tree is the symbolic fruit tree of Gran Canaria. “There is evidence of its existence in the aboriginal population of the island, both by documentary sources and by its presence in archaeological sites and remains.", added.
The publication has been financed by the Regional Rural Development Program of Gran Canaria 2008-2013, for the AXIS application 4 Leader of the Canary Islands Rural Development Program – EAFRD 2007-2013 on the island.