"Green" Olives

The History

In 1950, olive orchards were 45,000 ha. Tourism has also changed resident priorities, especially in coastal areas, where agricultural land uses were abandoned in favour of tourism-led construction activities. As a result, crop distribution changed, with the expansion of olive plantations.

Organic and inorganic

Over the last decade, organic olive farming has been adopted by a few estates. Organic olive oil refers to olive oil produced using organic processes and in accordance with EU regulations. Thus, the olives have been cultivated without chemical-synthetic fertilizers, plant protection products, and soil herbicides. This standard is published in the form of the European Union Regulation (Regulation EC 834/2007 and its implementing rules).

The island has 7.097.622 olive trees. The conventional trees are 5.685.126 and the organic are 1.412.496.

Biggest threats

The largest pest to olive farms in Lesvos is the Olive fruit fly, a pest mentioned in ancient texts from 3 B.C. which poses an extremely high risk to crops. Changes in climate can cause it to rapidly reproduce and cause up to 60% of harvest loss if infestation occurs. The UN claims that pests ruin 20-40% of crops per year, costing more than 200 billion euros per year globally. Olives affected by fruit flies are more acidic, change smell, and lose pulp which lowers the quality of oil. They also lead to rot, fungi, and decompose quickly. The most common olive tree species is the Kolovi olive, making up around 70% in the plantations.

Owners of olive plantations also want to increase the harvest. Olive trees can exist on poor and dry soil, but they still thrive on fertilizer. Some plantations therefore do not use it at all, while others rely heavily on it.

The Pesticides & Fertilizers

Dimethoate: a common pesticide used and studied on Lesvos. While residue in olives is considered low and non-hazardous, it poses environmental hazards that affects the growth rates in wildlife and aquatic mammals. In humans, it has been linked to genetic mutation and neurodevelopmental damage in children. 

The base elements of synthetic fertilizer are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Nitrogen and Phosphorus are highly soluble and can reach the as far as the groundwater. An increase in nutrients increases the growth of algae. Their degradation in turn lowers the oxygen levels and decreases the biodiversity in lakes, rivers, and the sea.

Relevant UNEP Sustainable Development Goals

The appropriate goals are highlighted in the photo. Goals 6 and 12 can also be included in this Nexus.

Goal 3- Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination

Goal 12- Target 12.4 By 2030, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.

Goal 15- Target 1 By 2030, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.

Modousa in the olive area of Gera

According to Pavlis and Athopoulou (2021), it is one of the first social economy projects in Greece, dealing with sustainable olive oil production and commercialization that has also considered social innovation and prosperity of the local communities.

Organic Olive Oil Production in Plomari, Lesvos

Aegaea Organic, cultivated on Protoulis' Plots- Estate and the Toumani family olive oil production (photo which follows) are both located in Plomari. These estate owners both received biological awards in ATHENA International Olive Oil Competition within the last 3 years. An additional unique aspect of these estates is their incorporation of herbs which grow on the roots of trees. Herbs such as oregano, rosemary, thyme and wild lavender.

Aegaea Organic cultivated on Protoulis' Plots- Estate Grown Olive Oil

How green is really green?

Organic estates are surrounded by estates that conduct conventional olive production

Reasons to Switch to Organic Farming

Consider the increasing demand for organic olive oil and other products and the benefits being earned from recent organic production.

Figures credit: Berg, H., Maneas, G., & Salguero Engström, A. (2018). A comparison between organic and conventional olive farming in Messenia, Greece. Horticulturae, 4(3), 15.