The El Prat Agricultural Cooperative started a campaign this week so that artichokes also have their emoji, the emoticon used in applications such as WhatsApp. “We have thought for years that it should have it,” said its president, Agustí García.

In fact, the cooperative wants to follow the example of Valencia, which got its particular design for the paella. “It would be very encouraging. All producers are interested,” said García, thinking that this food would become more popular in this way. At the moment, they have opened a collection of signatures through the Change.org platform.

“From the City Council we see the initiative with sympathy. We will surely do something at the artichoke festivals. We see no harm in joining other producers in the petition, but the initiative belongs to the cooperative,” added the Councilor for Agriculture of the City Council, Quim Bartolomé. In Almoradí (Alicante) they already tried it in 2021, reported the newspaper Las Provincias.

The campaign comes at a delicate time for the cultivation of artichokes, one of the star products of the Parc Agrari del Baix Llobregat. The reason is the drought. The famous artichoke in the area is the white variety from Tudela, known for its flavor. “If it doesn’t rain, you have a lot of problems,” García acknowledges.

For some time now, a hybrid variety known as green queen has also been grown. At the moment it is being very useful because it is more resistant to lack of water. “It’s going very well,” describes the president of the El Prat Agricultural Cooperative.