Italy: National Olive Oil Plan
Feb. 7, 2025
The new National Olive Oil Plan in 10 points, here they are!
The announcement was made by Undersecretary Patrio La Pietra at the Evolio Expo in Bari
A true and proper decalogue that, on behalf of the Government, Undersecretary Patrizio La Pietra intends to submit to all the protagonists who will sit at the table to prepare the new National Olive Oil Plan. A decalogue that he reeled off at Evolio Expo , the extra virgin olive oil fair currently taking place in Bari . A decalogue that is substantiated by the following points.
Patrick The Stone
1) Everyone is listened to , everyone's positions are respected, but then the synthesis is made by politics otherwise it will never get any day.
2) It is good that the regions do not go their own way with the territorial olive plans (as Calabria and Campania have already done), but that the latter conform to the national one, also because they would have the opportunity to make the most of the resources that will be put in place.
3) National olive growing does not have homogeneous characteristics . There is a southern olive growing, a central one and a northern one and this must be taken into consideration.
4) It must also be taken into consideration the fact that there is a professional olive growing , a hobbyist olive growing and a family olive growing : all three are important, but obviously they have completely different needs.
5) Productivity must be increased : therefore new plants, at high density to encourage mechanization and reduce costs, certainly with national varieties, maintaining high quality, but also additional support interventions, such as measures to overcome, for example, the critical issues related to water supply.
6) A strong action must be started for the recovery of abandoned olive groves , because these also constitute an important potential for increasing oil production.
7) The Ministry of the Environment must be involved , also at an economic level, to support olive growing in the center-north, located in those hilly or mountainous areas, because these olive groves, in addition to the high landscape and tourist value, also play an important role in preventing hydrogeological instability.
8) A strong and authoritative inter-profession must be established between all the actors in the supply chain , so that joint and shared actions can be activated in the enhancement and promotion of the oil product, following what Spain is doing positively.
9) We must take action at a European level to define a high-end oil range that goes beyond the generic term extra virgin and gives added value to the highest quality oil, starting with that produced in Italy.
10) We must continue the control action against fraud and adulteration to protect not only the image of Italian extra virgin olive oil, but above all of the many serious producers who with commitment, professionalism and dedication support this extraordinary sector of the national economy.
Being in Puglia , Undersecretary La Pietra could not avoid addressing the very delicate issue of Xylella . In this regard, he specified that a coordination must be established between the Government, the Puglia Region, trade associations and research bodies involved in the fight against the bacterium and in identifying resistant varieties to find concrete solutions together.
