The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights Anton Refalo has launched the ‘Sajjar Frisk u Lokali’ campaign to promote the use of local products and to appreciate products from Maltese and Gozitan farmers.

The minister emphasized that he feels a sense of responsibility towards farmers who still do their work every day, through many sacrifices.

Refalo said that "through this competition, we are reminding how important it is to respect the local product both as a tool to enable the consumer to make better choices for his health and the palate. I conclude by congratulating everyone who intends to take part in this competition and reminding them to be responsible, have fun and choose the best local and fresh produce."

To participate, one must first like and follow the Facebook page 'Agrikoltura' and search for 'Sajjar Frisk u Lokali' to follow the competition rules. Together with the family or as an individual, participants create a recipe using fresh, seasonal and local products and then upload the photos or videos.

Photographs or videos must show (i) the participant while buying vegetables, fruit and / or meat from the local market, (ii) the ingredients to be used during cooking, (iii) the process and (iv) the final dish. The top 10 dishes with the most likes are selected and evaluated by the judges, where then they will choose their top 4 favourite dishes.

The competition will be open until 7 January, 2022, where the winner will be announced later that same month. The competition is open to participants aged 10 and up, where the categories will be divided into four different age groups:

The first group - 10 to 16 years

The second group - 16 to 35 years

The third group - 36 to 60 years

The fourth group - over 60 years old