ABOUT US

Olive grove cultivation is a key socio-economic asset, and is the dominant landscape, of many regions of the Mediterranean olive oil producing countries. During the last decades, the low-input traditional olive oil farming intensification has resulted in a low-nature-value olive grove farming, thus provoking negative environmental impacts such as soil erosion, run-offs, soil fertility loss and degradation of habitats, among others. The objective of SUSTAINOLIVE is to enhance the sustainability of the olive grove farming throughout the implementation and promotion of novel sustainable technological solutions (STSs) that are based on agro-ecological concepts, and on knowledge exchange and co-creation among key actors and end-users. To achieve this, SUSTAINOLIVE will i) identified the diversity of pedoclimatic, landscape, socio-economic and policy conditions, along with the heterogeneity in the technological knowledge, that is encountered across the main Mediterranean olive oil producing countries (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Tunisia and Morocco), thanks to the active participation of end-users in a participatory platform, ii) identify an array of STSs and strategies adapted to the wide diversity of the olive grove cultivation, iii) evaluate a wide range of variables related to ecosystems services and socio-economic and Life-Cycle assessment in a network of olive farms which have already implemented the identified STSs, and iv) implement innovative technologies (e.g. composting, struvite production) for reusing olive mill by-products for agricultural purposes. The relevance of SUSTAINOLIVE are that it: i) is end-users led to speed up STSs adoption, ii) boost innovative cropping and livestock systems with limited resources and environmental constrains allowing adaptation of the olive grove farming to climate change, iii) improve synergies between livestock and olive oil production, iv) considers a range of different olive farming systems.

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Period of Implementation

Jun 1, 2019 - Sep 30, 2023
Total Budget

EUR 2,032,690.00

OUR IMPACT

Goals

Enhance the sustainability of the olive oil farming sector throughout the implementation and promotion of a set of innovative sustainable management solutions that are based on agro-ecological concepts, and on the exchange of knowledge and co-creation involving multiple actors and end-users.

Objectives

The overall objective of SUSTAINOLIVE is to enhance the sustainability of the olive oil farming sector throughout the implementation and promotion of a set of innovative sustainable management solutions that are based on agro-ecological concepts, and on the exchange of knowledge and co-creation involving multiple actors and end-users.

Problems and Needs Analysis

Increased olive oil demand has acted as a catalyst for the intensification and expansion of olive groves. The intensification of low-input traditional olive groves implies systematic use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides with more aggressive weed control and soil management practices 5. This has been underpinned by a clear trend to further intensify farming systems by means of irrigation, increased tree density and mechanical harvesting 6. Such intensification process has resulted in simplified landscapes with olive groves with low-nature-value, driving greater negative environmental impacts, particularly in the form of soil erosion, run-offs to water bodies, increased rates of soil fertility loss, degradation of habitats and landscapes, and over-exploitation of scarce and vulnerable water resources. The near absence of biological elements in intensive olive groves across the farm to landscape levels (other than olive trees), has led to the inefficiency of ecological regulatory mechanisms, which potentially provide ecosystems with resistance and resilience to ever-changing environmental conditions. This brings SUSTAINOLIVE consortium in front of the paradox that despite having acknowledged benefits for our health, olive oil production is based on an increasingly unsustainable model of production 7. The challenge remains therefore to reconcile socio-cultural-economic- sustainable olive grove practices with safeguarding the environment and avoiding overexploitation of natural resources. To achieve this goal the following changes are required: better integration of the natural environmental regulation of biotic and abiotic stresses into olive farming systems, optimisation of input use, development of new cropping systems and use of digital technologies. To do so, the contingent characteristics of Mediterranean ecosystem values and vulnerabilities must be fully considered so novel solutions that are adapted to local conditions can be developed. On the other hand, olive oil extraction produces vast amounts of liquid and solid wastes ( 5 million m3 annually during November-February) across all olive oil producing countries combined). These huge quantities of waste have a great impact on land and water ecosystems because of their high phytotoxicity 8. This prompts a need for more effective guidelines to manage these wastes through technologies that minimize their environmental impact and lead to a more sustainable use of resources for olive farming purposes; e.g. by composting these wastes to olive farming use, thus contributing to close the nutrient cycles of the olive oil sector at landscape scale and providing a valuable source of organic matter. The general goal in SUSTAINOLIVE is to build up research and innovation capacities to develop novel knowledge as well as applicable innovative solutions for the sustainable olive farming and management of the olive mill wastes, thus making it more climate resilient, efficient and cost effective.

Impact Pathway

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WHERE WE WORK

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NEWS & EVENTS