Small farmers in the olive oil sector in the Mediterranean basin suffer from similar problems: they own small and sometimes steep plots of land, they use traditional agriculture fed by rain, relying on family manpower at harvest time and lack agri-climate knowledge and finance services. These small family businesses in the vast majority are unprofitable, and as a result many olive groves are abandoned or uncultivated, and unemployment spreads in marginalized communities. In contrast, the demand for olive oil increases and boosts the demand for more oil and more quality.
The ARTOLIO project, funded by the EU's ENI CBC MED program for four years, was built to address these challenges. Following field experience, where farmers and oil mills teamed up and received technical / agronomic and business training on a regular basis resulting in higher olive yields and oil qualities, as well as improving management skills that made smaller businesses more profitable and flexible.
The ARTOLIO project includes 65 farmers and Mills’ owners from countries and productive regions in the Mediterranean basin that include Israel, Palestine, Cyprus, Greece, France and Spain. Each group of farmers is managed by regional local knowledge institutions, Native Olive Regional Knowledge Centers (NOReKCs) in each participating region, which will continuously provide farmers and oil millers with ongoing and up-to-date agronomic and business advice aimed at improving olive yield, oil quality, business skills and management procedures. The ARTOLIO project also established a Pan-Mediterranean Platform network that brings together all knowledge centers, farmers and producers into a unified platform that will assist small olive oil businesses throughout the Mediterranean basin in marketing, sales, financing, and policy and legislation, at the national and international level (Artolio.world). ARTOLIO platform is enabling small olive oil producers to export their product to foreign markets at premium prices, and replicate ARTOLIO's model across the Mediterranean basin with the benefits of a more economically sustainable olive and olive oil business, creating new jobs in rural areas and encouraging environmental sustainability through Increased carbon absorption of existing and new olive trees that cleanse the environment in which we live and strengthen a healthy community life.
ARTOLIO project details:
ARTOLIO is funded by ENI CBC MED
Official website: https://www.enicbcmed.eu/projects/artolio
Acronym: ARTOLIO
Full title: Profitable and Sustainable artisanal olive oil industry in the Mediterranean
Thematic objective: A.1 Business and SMEs development
Priority: A.1.2 Euro-Mediterranean economic clusters
Countries: Israel, Palestine, Greece, Cyprus, Spain (8 partners)
Total budget: €2.9 million
EU contribution: €2.6 million
Project co-financing: 10%
Duration: 29.8.2020 – 28.11.2023