It is with great pleasure that I accepted the invitation to attend and address today's workshop organized by the Institute of Agricultural Research entitled "Genetic, agro-environmental and technological factors that shape the composition and quality of carob and its processing products". Today's workshop is of great interest because it presents research results of practical interest, mainly resulting from the activities of the Institute of Agricultural Research, in the framework of the BLACKGOLD Project "Carob, the black gold of Cyprus, science meets industry", which is coordinated by the University of Cyprus.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment attaches great importance to the promotion of crops adapted to the specific climatic conditions of Cyprus, in the context of sustainable agricultural development. Carob is undoubtedly a unique genetic resource, with a long tradition of adaptation to soil and climate conditions where other tree crops hardly thrive. For centuries, the Cypriot countryside was covered with significant areas of carob trees, created by Cypriot farmers through the selection and grafting of wild trees. The carob tree was directly linked to the agri-environmental topography of Cyprus and to the history and traditions of local communities. The collection and export of carob trees has always been one of the most important sources of agricultural income. Cyprus has established itself as one of the main producing countries and the Cypriot carob is highly regarded for its quality. At the same time, the processing of carob provided additional income to local communities and contributed to meeting the nutritional needs of the population with products of high nutritional value.
After the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, the shift of Cypriot agriculture to intensive high-input farming, with high demands on irrigation, fertilisation and plant protection, marked a period of abandonment and degradation of carob cultivation and brought about a dramatic reduction in the volume of exports of the product and its by-products. The new crops quickly provided increased agricultural income, but this was accompanied by a large environmental footprint that made them unsustainable. At the same time, the globalisation of agricultural trade in the last decades has caused a significant shock to the competitiveness of the new crops and a gradual erosion of Cyprus' comparative advantages as a producing country.
Under the spectre of climate change, the circumstances make it imperative to re-evaluate carob cultivation on a systematic basis and to further develop know-how in the field of cultivation and processing. This shift is also required by the policies of the European Union, as reflected in the Green Agreement and in particular the 'Biodiversity Strategy' and the new 'Farm to Plate Strategy', which aim at a more equitable and sustainable food cycle, benefiting human health, rewarding producers and traders, while protecting the environment. Carob farming is perfectly compatible with these strategies because it has limited requirements in terms of inputs for plant protection, fertilisation and irrigation, a factor that gives it sustainability characteristics. In addition to the agri-environmental value of carob cultivation, the potential for processing carob for the production of products of high nutritional, culinary and pharmaceutical value is inexhaustible. The development of such products increases the value and competitiveness of Cypriot products in international trade.
For all the reasons I mentioned above, our Ministry supports actions such as the present one, which directly promote the significant activity demonstrated by the Institute of Agricultural Research in characterizing the quality of Cypriot carob and in obtaining innovative products for its processing. The results of the Institute's research activity are expected to serve as a springboard for the further development of carob cultivation and processing.
Looking forward to the conclusions of today's workshop, I wish every success in its work.
(MGS/EXP)
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