KLEČAK CORN RECEIVES PROTECTED DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN CERTIFICATE

TREBINJE, MAY 14 /SRNA/ - The Klečak–Popovopoljac corn, the first food product from the Trebinje area, has today received a certificate of protected designation of origin after being officially entered into the register of food products with protected designations in BiH.

The president of the Association of Popovo Polje Corn Producers Manojlo Ćuk said that Klečak corn was saved at the last moment, as only a few households still had seed, and this year everyone planted about one dunum /around a quarter of an acre/ of corn.

"Our product from Popovo Polje, once processed into flour, will find its place on dining tables," Ćuk told reporters after the certificate award ceremony at the City Administration of Trebinje.

Ćuk said that yields of this corn range from 250 to 350 kilograms per dunum, depending on the year, while hybrid varieties yield around 1,200 kilograms per dunum.

The Mayor of Trebinje Mirko Ćurić emphasized the importance of preserving an indigenous product and said that, together with the Tourism Organization and the owners of hotels and restaurants, ways should be found to distribute it throughout the region.

Ćuk said that efforts should be made to ensure the product is in demand not only in Trebinje but also in the wider region, adding that the Association will consider what the city can do to increase the production of Popovo Polje corn.

He said that more than a year and a half of work went into the project and thanked the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations /FAO/ and the Food Safety Agency for their support.

The director of the Food Safety Agency of BiH Sanin Tanković said the Agency works to promote safe products but also to protect traditional values, adding that he hopes this is only the beginning of a much larger project.

FAO representative in BiH, Vlado Pijunović, said the certificate awarded today is very significant for Trebinje, and that continued FAO support has been agreed upon to increase the corn production through awareness-raising and technical assistance.