A potato festival is being held for the first time at Il-Ġnien tal-Warda, Qrendi, today. Potato varieties, equipment and machinery used in the harvesting and export of potatoes will be on show, as well as various food stalls serving potato recipes.
Although the potato is not the most colourful of vegetables, it is still the third largest crop in the world. There are around 5,000 varieties, 3,000 of which are found in the Andes alone, mainly in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile and Colombia.
The potato was first used domestically in the Andes mountain regions of modern-day southern Peru and extreme northwestern Bolivia between 8000 BC and 5000 BC.