Agroxerxa closes the local varieties campaign with the final “Dit i collit” video

Agroxerxa, the platform for promoting local products driven by OBSAM–IME, has brought the Local Varieties of Menorca Campaign to a close with the presentation of the final episode of the video series “Dit i collit”. This marks the end of a year of work dedicated to raising awareness of the agronomic, cultural and gastronomic value of the island’s seasonal local varieties.

Over recent months, the campaign, launched together with the Association of Organic Agriculture Producers of Menorca (APAEM), has benefited from the support of a wide network of organisations and individuals working to conserve Menorca’s cultivated biodiversity. Participants have included Es Viver des GOB, Arbres d’Algendar (Mestral–Càritas), various local producers, points of sale such as the Cooperativa San Crispín, as well as researchers like the botanist Pere Fraga, a member of the IME, and the duo formed by Sílvia Anglada and Toni Tarragó, from the restaurant ‘Es Tast de na Sílvia’.

150 local varieties and a living heritage

In Menorca, around 150 local varieties are known, the result of a long process of co-evolution with the island’s climate, soils and farming practices. Their survival depends on a complex chain that runs from the surveying and multiplication of seeds to characterisation, agricultural production and, finally, their dissemination and consumption by the public.

These varieties are a key part of Menorca’s agrarian and genetic heritage: they preserve the memory of the territory, the work of generations of farmers and a way of growing that is fully adapted to the landscape and conditions of Menorca. For this reason, Agroxerxa underlines the importance of continuing to study, sow and consume them as a way of strengthening food sovereignty, biodiversity and the balance of the island’s agricultural landscape.

More than 125 fact sheets on the most representative varieties

One of the main outcomes of the campaign has been the consolidation of an information space on the portal agroxerxa.menorca.es, which brings together more than 125 fact sheets with information and photographs of the most representative local varieties of Menorca’s farmland.

The repository includes pumpkins, melons and watermelons; pulses such as broad beans, guixes (grass peas), chickpeas and beans; tomatoes and aubergines; xeixa wheat and durum wheat — with flours and breads —; lettuces, artichokes, cabbages and several types of fruit. This collection has been compiled with the collaboration of organisations and individuals and has become a reference resource both for producers and for schools and members of the public interested in agrarian biodiversity.

Short videos and social media to reach more people

The campaign has combined in-depth work with a communication strategy focused on social media. Seasonal local varieties have been showcased and seven episodes of “Dit i collit” have been produced, very short videos that explain the value and characteristics of each product.

In total, the 20 outreach pieces published during the 12 months of the campaign have achieved an average of around 2,000 views each, a figure which, according to the organisers, confirms the growing interest of the public in agrarian biodiversity and local products from Menorca.

From Fira Arrels to Menorca’s melons

Alongside digital dissemination, Agroxerxa has promoted various in-person activities. One of the most notable took place at the last Fira Arrels, on 21 September, with the participation of Sílvia Anglada and Toni Tarragó (Es Tast de na Sílvia), Es Viver des GOB and Arbres d’Algendar. Under the title “Menjam d’aquí: de la mar a l’arbre” (“We eat from here: from the sea to the tree”), the activity combined a discussion between representatives of the organisations and the Menorcan chef with a demonstration of the Es Tast de na Sílvia salad, prepared with local fruit and vegetable varieties and seasonal local fish.

At the campaign’s launch, there was also a talk entitled “Els melons de Menorca: diversitat varietal, característiques, importància, cultiu i conservació” (“The melons of Menorca: varietal diversity, characteristics, importance, cultivation and conservation”), given by Pere Fraga at the Cooperativa San Crispín. The session, accompanied by a tasting prepared by Sílvia Anglada, highlighted the varietal richness of the island, which has preserved up to 26 different melon varieties, and brought back memories and experiences of traditional cultivation in family gardens.

Where to find more information?

On the Agroxerxa portal you can consult the fact sheets on local varieties, as well as information on where to obtain seedlings and trees of these varieties. You can also find the recipe prepared at Fira Arrels and, on the OBSAM–Agroxerxa YouTube channel, the outreach video on local varieties, which rounds off a campaign that now closes its first cycle but has left tools and resources to continue sowing knowledge about Menorca’s agrarian heritage.