The Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, via the Santa Cruz Sostenible Foundation and the Environmental Sustainability department, declared yesterday the commencement of a project titled Actions for the Prospecting, Collection and Conservation of Traditional Agricultural Varieties of Taganana, funded through the participatory budgets for 2023-2024.
The aim is to safeguard and preserve the biological and ethnographic wealth of this part of the municipality, whilst also enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions regarding production, consumption, development, and the establishment of a usage strategy.
The Mayor of Santa Cruz and President of the Board of Trustees of the Santa Cruz Sostenible Foundation, José Manuel Bermúdez, noted that “the council is committed to fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, encompassing initiatives of this nature that seek to recover and safeguard the agricultural heritage resources of this region, recognised as a Biosphere Reserve since 2015, thereby fostering a sustainable development model.”
In parallel, the Councillor for Environmental Sustainability and Vice-President of the Board of Trustees of the Santa Cruz Sostenible Foundation, Carlos Tarife, clarified that, “for this initiative, we have consulted the farmers and agricultural businesses in the area, who are traditionally the leading experts in the resources of the Taganana Valley.” He also highlighted that “it is our responsibility to protect the environment of this location, which serves as the primary lung for Santa Cruz.”
Additionally, the director of the Santa Cruz Sustainable Foundation, Diego Broock, remarked that, “this project includes specific measures to promote the management and conservation of various agricultural varieties critical to achieving socioeconomic and environmental sustainability in Taganana, an area renowned for its extensive cultivated biodiversity, one of the most significant in the national landscape.”
Commitment
The council underscores that this initiative embodies a decisive and resolute commitment from the local government to the conservation of its agricultural and natural heritage. It asserts that through such initiatives, not only is the preservation of traditional varieties of Taganana assured, but a sustainable development strategy benefiting the broader community is also stimulated. With the proactive involvement of local farmers and institutional backing, a foundation is being set for a greener and more sustainable future for Santa Cruz de Tenerife, they stated.
