The European Soil O-Live project has completed its first phase in which a soil diagnosis of the Mediterranean olive grove has been carried out after the analysis of more than 500 soil samples from 52 farms in Spain, Greece, Portugal, Italy and Morocco. The first results show ‘a picture of the soil that can be improved’ in key indicators for soil health, especially in terms of soil compaction, copper accumulation, erosion rates, amount of organic matter, fertility and soil respiration, which represents the biodiversity contained in the soil.
This assessment was presented at the 14 sustainability training courses held in recent months in Andalusia, Extremadura and Portugal. The University of Jaén and Deoleo Global, members of the Soil O-Live consortium, have taught more than 300 farmers the responsibility of implementing sustainable practices in their olive groves to care for the soil and maintain its function. Specifically, these educational events have reached the towns of Peñolite, Beas de Segura, Villanueva del Arzobispo, Úbeda, Canena, Villagordo and Bedmar in Jaén; Yeguas, Pozoblanco, San Sebastián de los Ballesteros, Bujalance, Nueva Carteya and Castro del Río in Córdoba, as well as Ventoso in Badajoz and Ferreira do Alentejo in Portugal.
Each of the conferences, which this year have reached Portugal as a novelty, have had a first part in which the objectives of the Soil O-Live project, the research that has been carried out and its first results have been explained. It was also emphasised that, in the second part of the project, the aim will be to provide solutions to improve the situation of the olive grove soil, advancing the use of biochar, compost or the inoculation of microorganisms such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. In the first part of the conference, Deoleo explained its sustainability protocol, highlighting the importance of raising awareness for the sustainable production of olive oil.
The coordinator of the project, Antonio Manzaneda, professor of Ecology at the University of Jaén, expressed his ‘satisfaction’ with the positive reception by the farmers and the olive grove sector of these conferences ‘where the advances of the project and the solutions proposed to improve the health of the olive grove soils are presented first hand’, he reported. The participants, in turn, have been proactive in their participation and have shown their commitment to carry out measures to improve the state of the soil.
In addition to the conferences themselves, other collaborations have been carried out, such as the participation in a plantation/reforestation in Villanueva del Arzobispo, in collaboration with Jaencoop, in which students from the municipality took part, or the presentation of the sustainability project and the Soil O-Live project at the CETAEX in Extremadura.
In short, there have been 14 occasions to involve farmers in caring for the soil in their olive groves.
The University of Jaén and Deoleo will present the results of the soil health diagnosis of the Soil O-Live project, and the impact of the training activities for the sustainability of olive cultivation carried out, within the Soil Mission Week that takes place from today, 12th to 15th November in Brussels.
