OLIVARES

Olive plantations, due to their extension, geographical context and environmental value, are a strategic crop for the conservation of biodiversity in Europe. However, the loss of biodiversity in this crop has significantly compromised its ecological functionality. To deal with this problem, the project LIFE Olive Alive transcends the agri-environmental field to connect with the agri-food sector and the olive farmers and consumers. The main objective of this project is rescuing biodiversity in the olive groves to increase their profitability. To achieve this target, the University of Jaén, the Provincial Government of Jaén and the Arid Zones Experimental Station (CSIC), are carrying out a demonstration project to design an olive-growing model that rescues biodiversity, establishes the creation of certification mechanisms that support this added value in the olive oil produced and defines the best strategy to transform this value into profitability from the "Olive Alive" guarantee mark. This LIFE project began in October 2015 and will end in September 2020. The project is currently being developed in 20 demonstrative olive groves in Andalusia and has a total budget of € 2,856,005