The III Agro-Food Fair Espiga of Caja Rural de Extremadura began this Friday, October 16, at the Badajoz Fair Institution (Ifeba), where it will remain open until next Tuesday, the 20th. The event focuses its offer on the product and the agro-food fabric of the region, and has chefs Toño Pérez and Dani García as ambassadors.
At the inauguration, the president of Caja Rural de Extremadura, Urbano Caballo, emphasized the growth experienced by this event from its first edition to the current one, which occupies 6,000 square meters and brings together 130 companies and 80 chefs involved in different proposals. Among them are showcooking, tastings, samplings, and competitions, such as the Spanish Championship of Cooking and Pastry, all with the aim of reinforcing the visibility of the Extremaduran product.
Regarding this area and the entire agro-food sector, the vice president and counselor of the Presidency, Coordination of Government Action, Interior and Emergencies, Abel Bautista, stressed that in Extremadura the sector that "pulls" and acts as the economic engine of the community is "undoubtedly" the agro-food sector, which concentrates around 20 percent of regional employment, generates a turnover of 4.2 billion euros, and allocates more than half of its production to export.
For his part, the mayor of Badajoz, Ignacio Gragera, highlighted that Extremadura is a "great land" of producers and chefs, as well as the consolidation of the Espiga Fair, whose agenda includes nearly 50 activities. In addition to tastings, samplings, and culinary exhibitions, live cooking sessions, meetings among professionals, conferences on gastronomy and products, workshops for children, and proposals linked to the gastronomic routes of Extremadura have been scheduled.
One of the major attractions of the event will be the participation of recognized chefs, who will share their experience and knowledge with the public. The fair will feature all the Denominations of Origin and Protected Geographical Indications of Extremadura, along with agro-food companies, producers, hospitality professionals, and representatives from different links in the food chain.
In addition to the gastronomic component, the organization aims to reinforce the business aspect of the meeting. To this end, the attendance of large distribution chains is anticipated, as well as the creation of commercial contact spaces between producers, companies, and potential buyers, with initiatives such as a reverse trade mission that will bring together national and international buyers with Extremaduran companies.
Our products, our origin
Urbano Caballo has reminded that this Friday "as if by chance" the III Espiga Fair kicks off, which "is nothing like the first," in which they lacked data, statistics, and certainties about the outcome. He has argued that projects thrive when people are "convinced" that they are "good" and "pull together" collectively, as is evident in this new edition, which he hopes will continue to grow and maintain its success in promoting Extremaduran products, which is the "only" objective with which it was born.
"When we go to the Gourmet Hall, we are one of the 50,000 who are there, but here are our products, here is our origin, and we have to make that stand out and people appreciate it," he highlighted, while praising the quality of the exhibitors and thanking Toño Pérez for his continuity as ambassador of the fair for the third year, now accompanied by the Andalusian chef Dani García. He also acknowledged the work of the Caja Rural team, with the general director, Rocío Morales, and the manager of the Education and Promotion Fund, María Navarro, at the forefront.
Next, the mayor of Badajoz, Ignacio Gragera, emphasized that Ifeba puts its facilities at the service of a new edition of the Espiga Fair, and he thanked that the city has been chosen again and that Badajoz is a key part of an event that belongs to the whole of Extremadura and integrates all the producers of the region, the agri-food industry, and prominent professionals from the restaurant and distribution sectors, who "ultimately make what is produced in our fields reach our tables."
"It is a collective job, a job that involves many people and that, of course, allows us to say today with pride that Extremadura is a great land of producers and is a great land of cooks, here you eat well and it shows," he stated. He also emphasized the importance of this fair and its ability to bring together the heads of the regulatory councils of DOP and IGP, while growing and adding value to the producers by attracting importers from all over the world, who get to know the producers and the product at origin, checking its quality.
Finally, Abel Bautista insisted on the 6,000 square meters of surface of this third edition, where "the best of the agri-food sector of Extremadura is concentrated, which is the same as saying that it is the best of the agri-food sector of all of Spain." He pointed out that today Extremadura foods are present in markets of numerous countries and that the community has gone from being "the bulk pantry of the rest of Spain" to becoming a region where the added value remains.
This change, he noted, is the result of the effort of the professionals who gather at the fair, such as farmers, ranchers, marketers, and distributors. Extremadura has DOP and IGP and "a consolidated image that must be taken advantage of," because for those products to be tasted and for Toño and Dani to "be able to work their magic" in the kitchens of their restaurants, it is essential that "all these people do their job," a sector that "deserves" institutional support and without which the region would not be the same.