LA LAGUNA (TENERIFE), 11 (EUROPA PRESS)
The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, along with the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Sovereignty, Narvay Quintero, visited the Princesa Tejina Early Childhood and Primary Education Centre (CEIP) in Tenerife this Wednesday to gain insight into the progress of the ‘El gofio, Olympic breakfast’ initiative, which has already reached a thousand Canarian students through the public company GMR Canarias.
This initiative, championed by former Olympic athlete Mario Pestano, aims to raise awareness about the benefits of this local ‘superfood’, while also bolstering the agricultural sector and encouraging healthy lifestyles.
As part of the ‘Grow Together’ strategy implemented by the Government of the Canary Islands, the programme is currently active in a dozen educational establishments across Tenerife and Gran Canaria, featuring informational talks and sports demonstrations led by the athlete, involving both the students and Physical Education instructors.
In addition to ‘El gofio, Olympic breakfast’, the cooperation between the Canary Islands Executive, the agricultural sector and the educational field is also realised through two other major initiatives: the Canary Islands Eco-eaters Programme and the School Plan for the Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables.
Both of these initiatives promote the intake of local, fresh, and seasonal produce amongst students, thus fostering local production on the islands and advocating for healthy nutrition, according to a statement from the Government.
In his remarks, President Fernando Clavijo emphasised that “The Canary Islands have developed a model for other autonomous communities to emulate, combining the promotion of the consumption of locally sourced products with the encouragement of healthy habits among young people, benefitting local producers and the entire educational community while fostering sustainable development that prioritises rural areas.”
The head of the regional government announced that the ‘El gofio, Olympic breakfast’ initiative will be expanded next year to other educational centres, a conclusion reached by the Ministry of Agriculture in light of the pilot programme’s success.
In comments to the media, Minister Narvay Quintero reaffirmed that gofio, “beyond being a traditional product with numerous advantages, integral to the identity of the Canary Islands, is a distinguished quality product made under the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) label.” He added that due to the positive outcomes achieved, this initiative, originally a pilot project, will be extended to other centres on the non-capital islands, prioritising those educational institutions near gofio mills.
THE GOFIO SECTOR IN NUMBERS
Gofio is regarded as a ‘superfood’ that boasts numerous attributes and exceptional nutritional value, containing various vitamins, minerals, unsaturated fatty acids, and amino acids, as highlighted by the Government.
It supplies athletes with carbohydrates that assimilate at a medium to slow rate, both soluble and insoluble fibre, vitamins B, A, and D, as well as minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc, in addition to omega-6 fatty acids and a variety of amino acids.
At present, there are 37 operational gofio mills across Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote.
The overall annual production stands at 6,745 tonnes, with approximately 5,000 tonnes allocated for the Canarian market and 1,707 tonnes exported.
In terms of composition, 58% of the gofio produced in the Canary Islands is made from millet. The next most significant types are wheat at 20%, cereal mix at 16%, and cereal and legume blend at 4%.
Gran Canaria is the leading producer of gofio, contributing 52% of the total volume in the archipelago, followed by Tenerife, which accounts for 31% of the volume, together making up 83% of the Canary Islands’ production.
Production in La Palma and La Gomera represents 13% and 4% respectively, with the other three islands, El Hierro, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote, contributing less than 1% of the total.
REFERENCES IN SCHOOL MENUS
The Ecocomedores de Canarias Programme was launched in 2013 as a groundbreaking initiative and has established itself as a national benchmark over the last decade by providing school menus composed of organic, fresh, and seasonal products.
This collaborative programme not only supports local consumption but also promotes ecological agriculture and livestock farming, encouraging sustainable rural development.
The success of ‘Ecocomedores’ has been so profound that other autonomous communities, such as the Basque Country, Navarra, and Valencia, have looked to adopt similar models.
Currently, it benefits over 23,000 diners and is organised around a regional network that includes 105 eco-farmers and 172 participating entities, with 168 of those being educational centres.
Meanwhile, the ‘School Plan for Fruit and Vegetable Consumption’, which is funded by the European Union, aims to encourage healthy eating habits among schoolchildren in the Canary Islands by distributing fresh fruits and vegetables to students.
Hence, during the 2024-2025 academic year, 223,341 kilos of these products will be distributed among 67,794 students across 348 schools.
This initiative, which also aids in combating childhood obesity—one of the key health concerns regarding the child and youth population—includes various educational activities designed to raise awareness among children about the importance of a balanced diet based on these products, regular physical activity, and responsible food consumption, all of which will be conducted both inside and outside of schools.
