36. #Fruit: Children going bananas: the EU school scheme for fruit & veg

For this 36th edition of Food for Europe, we travel to the Canary Islands, one of the outermost regions of the European Union, where the famous Plátano de Canarias PGI banana comes from. We focus on two aspects of this unique product: its status of protected geographical indication under EU law, adding value to agriculture in this isolated region; and its role in the EU school scheme, which provides fruit, vegetables and milk to pupils across Europe for both physical and educational nourishment. We talk to Santiago Rodríguez Pérez, who’s spent his life farming Plátano de Canarias, and we hear from Sergio Cáceres, manager of producers’ association Asprocan about the challenges facing the sector. Food for Europe also meets María Nieves Hernández Velázquez, director of the school CEIP Los Cristianos, which participates in the EU-funded school scheme that supplies the famous Plátano de Canarias to students and educates them about the archipelago’s agricultural heritage. Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development officials Aniko Németh and Carlos Martín Óvilo provide, respectively, the policy perspectives on the system of geographical indications and the purpose and advantages of the EU school scheme.