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It is with great pleasure that I am here today in the beautiful village of Farmakas for the Festival of Authentic Local and Traditional Products. It is a great honour for me to participate in this event, which is taking place for the 10th time, which demonstrates the success of the event, as well as the interest and appreciation of our fellow citizens for the tradition of our place.
Today, we have the honour of the quince paste, the ppalouse, the soutzioukos, the trahanas, the halloumi and so many other traditional agricultural and livestock products. Today we all have the opportunity, while walking around the festival, to taste and watch the process of preparation of these local dishes by the 'masters' of their kind. In addition, we can watch the distillation of zivania and the demonstration of winemaking in the traditional jar, thus enriching our knowledge of the folklore of our land. All these products are unique and are part of the gastronomic heritage of our Cyprus. A heritage that we should respectfully and with great appreciation preserve "as an eye for an eye" for future generations.
I would like to highlight the fact that in recent years, the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment has made a great effort and provided all possible assistance to our producers in order to achieve the protection of as many of our country's traditional product names as possible under the European Union's system of geographical indications. The protection of the names of our agricultural products through the geographical indications system is a constant objective of our Ministry. In addition, as part of the pro-agricultural policy of the Government of Nicos Christodoulides, a draft bill for the establishment of a Cypriot label award system is in the final stage of legal drafting in the Legal Service. This will give an additional boost to the Cypriot countryside. The awarding of a label essentially reflects the origin of the products and will give them a differentiated presence in the market linked to the place of production, but also to the domestic raw material used for their preparation.
The non-negotiable objective for the Government is to strengthen the competitiveness of the primary sector, but also the processing and utilization of agricultural products by the producers themselves. We are working tirelessly to revitalise the rural population, to provide a fair income for the producer, to ensure food quality and to support the ageing of the agricultural sector. It is of course well known that the agricultural sector in Cyprus is currently facing many challenges. The Government, with consistency and a high sense of responsibility, always stands by the farmer, the livestock farmer and the processor of agricultural and livestock products so that together we can face every new challenge. At the same time, as the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, we have implemented all available European financial instruments for the modernisation of our agricultural sector.
Friends,
Let's take a stroll through the streets of the village, drink water from the "Golden Spring of Farmakas", "the fountain of Koskinas", and taste the traditional bakery bun, ppalouse, soutzioukko, kydonopasto and zivania, products inextricably linked to this place and the tradition of our Cyprus.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the organizers of this beautiful event, the Association of Expatriates and Friends of Farmakas and the Community Council of Farmakas. I wish everyone a lot of fun.
Thank you.
(BG)
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