This Saturday the 18th edition of the Platense Tomato Festival and the people of La Plata are already visiting stands and finding out about this traditional fruit and its derivatives. The activity takes place at the headquarters of the MDA Gorina Experimental Station, located in the vicinity of the intersection of 501 and 148.
The Platense Tomato Festival provides a meeting space between producers and consumers to exchange experiences, demonstrate the variety and quality of local production, promote its consumption and celebrate the work of horticulturists. Se can be found stalls selling tomatoes from La Plata and their derivatives such as sweets, sauces and beers, among others, as well as stands selling vegetables and products made by Small Units of Producers of Artisanal Food (PUPAAS) from Buenos Aires, as well as a open radio with family farming producers, recreational activities, musical shows and gastronomic stalls.
“The tomato from La Plata stands out for its unique intense and natural flavor, its strong red color and its high quality. They are tomatoes grown with agroecological practices by family producers and producers with vast experience and trajectory in the most important horticultural belt of the Province and the country. This party seeks to make this visible and prioritize the production and consumption of the tomato produced in the La Plata district,” said the head of the area regarding local production. javier rodriguez. “Knowledge, the incorporation of new technologies and sustainable production have a fundamental role within our strategic vision to improve the quality of Buenos Aires food,” she remarked.
At the Gorina Experimental Station, different lines of research and innovation related to agroecological-based technology are developed for the management of horticultural systems and the genetic improvement of different varieties of vegetables, particularly tomatoes, with the aim of further increasing their quality, expanding the varietal supply of materials and the local productive diversity.
During the day, the Ministry has its own stand on the premises where information and advice is provided on the different policies and programs aimed at promoting the sector. MDA professionals will also give a talk about the work on La Plata tomato improvement that is carried out at the Experimental Station.
Visitors can also tour the Governor’s recently inaugurated food processing plant Axel Kicillof, which has a tomato crusher, a pulper for all types of fruit (separates skin and seed from the pulp), a slicer and cutter, and an industrial hand blender. The space also has an open pan, a scalder, a dehydrating oven, a double boiler for industrial sterilization, an industrial burner of 24,000 kcal/h and two refrigerating chambers for the correct conservation of the food to be processed, tools and equipment that allow it to be added value to the raw material of the local horticultural belt, while offering a service to producers who want to industrialize their production.
In addition to the Buenos Aires Ministry of Agrarian Development, the Platense Tomato Producers Group, the UNLP Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, the UNLP Faculty of Exact Sciences, the UNLP Social Council, the Arturo Jauretche University, the National Seed Institute (INASE), the Institute of Research and Technological Development for Family Farming (IPAF) and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA).
