The Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies - Pisa constitutes, together with the University of Perugia, our Planet O-live Academy charged with establishing and disseminating guidelines for sustainable olive growing.
Representing the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies team in this project is Prof. Sebastiani. Prof. Sebastiani.
In this collaboration, we are all aware that we need to have a very practical and concrete approach to make progress from an environmental and social point of view, but also economically: in fact, the new guidelines must improve not only the quality and the sustainability of the product, but also its economic performance for the entire category of producers.
Activities began by meeting with farms in their areas to identify their needs; so far, 13 of them have been visited throughout Italy. For each one, the production process was examined: cultivation method, structural characteristics of the planting, agronomic management (pruning, fertilization, irrigation, ripening and harvesting), mineral nutrient cycle and flows.
Queste attività iniziali hanno permesso di individuare le problematiche più sentite e di definire le aree di intervento in cui la nostra Academy può accompagnare le aziende agricole interessate:
- Agronomic management
Planning new intensive plantings, pruning for better yield, composting pruned branches, intercropping of legumes and grasses, yield vs. fertilization needs, yield vs. irrigation needs, yield and ideal harvest time. - Recovery of abandoned olive groves
Reconversion for production, landscape and hydrogeological restoration, wild herbs for food and livestock in olive groves, tourism, landscape and education initiatives, carbon credit market, consumer adoption of olive groves. - Human Resources Management
Staff training for agronomic operations, sharing of human resources between farms, consolidating employment throughout the year, and integration of the disabled into the farm. - Lobby - Confagricoltura and Assoprol
Varietal selection for superintensive, genetic improvement of olive tree, carbon credits.