The ecological transition of the olive grove

SUSTAINOLIVE aims to contribute to improving the sustainability of olive groves and the management of by-products from olive oil mills in the Mediterranean basin. It is funded through the PRIMA programme - sustainable use of natural resources, economic growth and stability in the Mediterranean - which is supported by Horizon 2020. 

Coordinated by the University of Jaén (Spain), the consortium includes universities, research centers, cooperatives and associations of producers from Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Greece, Italy and Tunisia. 

SUSTAINOLIVE aims to transfer clear and concise information on the most relevant issues related to the necessary ecological transition of the olive grove to the members of the cooperatives. This includes the benefits of applying efficient environmental practices to olive groves, the beneficial effects of applying sustainable agronomic techniques on olive grove soil fertility, and on the negative impacts that the use of phytosanitary products have on the health of the farmer, the consumer and the environment.

Communication is key: SUSTAINOLIVE holds workshops in order to transfer their research to the field. They have developed a specific methodology for communication to ensure they are reaching their target groups effectively. Feedback from a participant at a recent event "The effort to translate the technical concepts into a language that farmers can understand is appreciated". 

The project has published a series of accessible and easy-to-read factsheets on topics such as ‘Measuring Sustainability’, ‘The enemies of pests’, ‘The impacts of agro-chemicals’, which give clear statistics, examples from different countries, photos, recommendations and more. You can also download their manual on sustainable management of olive groves. Their publications are available in Arabic, French, English, Greek, Portuguese, Italian and Spanish.

Factsheets, manual and other resources

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Would you like to watch videos on this topic? One of the partners of the project has compiled several videos on sustainable management practices. You can check them out here.