The importance of the olive tree is not limited to food. The International Olive Council (IOC), also known as "the UN of olive oil", has proposed to recognize the olive tree as the "guardian of the Earth".
Since ancient times, different peoples and cultures have considered the olive tree as the symbol of peace par excellence.
The olive tree has a long history and today thanks to its peculiarities, it is also an effective tool to fight climate change.
"According to several agronomic studies - conducted by experts in the field - the olive tree prevents soil erosion and absorbs an average of 2 kg of CO2 per day. Hence, olive crops and olive oil production are essential to reducing the amount of greenhouse gases which cause global warming.”
On the basis of the aforementioned, the COI and FAO (The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), have signed an agreement aiming at intensifying technical and scientific cooperation in support of the olive sector globally.
This agreement was officially signed in June 2021, during the 113th session of the International Olive Council.
Abdellatif Ghedira, executive director of the COI, and Mohammed Manssouri, director of the FAO Investment Center, signed the historic agreement for a "complementary and crucial" collaboration.
The objectives are multifaceted and aim first of all to "ensure food safety, establishing a harmonized legislation at international level that protects consumers and producers", but also "to make the olive sector more productive and sustainable, promoting technical cooperation and technological transfer, and supporting research and development initiatives".
The agreement also aims at "reducing rural poverty through the promotion of consumption of olive products, dissemination of information on the olive economy and improvement of the business climate for investment" and at "enabling olive agri-food systems that are inclusive and efficient, promoting environmental conservation and sustainable production". Furthermore, the specialized magazine Foodweb.it points out, the agreement shall also “increase the resilience of the olive sector” under the current pandemic environment.
The next session of the COI will be held in November 2021 in Tbilisi, Georgia, while the plenary session will be held on November 25th, 2021 - and the next day World Olive Day will be celebrated.
The European Union is also actively putting in place initiatives to value olive growing and promote quality, traceability and certification of European olive oil.
Among such initiatives, the project called Oliveoileu.jp plays a prominent role.
This articulated information-sharing project is managed on behalf of the EU by OP Latium, the Italian Organization of Olive Oil Producers of Latium. The project seeks to share reliable, official and up-to-date information about the precious Mediterranean product, in Japan, one of the world’s largest importers of olive oil.
Via the online portal https://oliveoileu.jp/ it is possible to read all there is to know about European olive oil: cultivation varieties, production and processing methods, quality and place of origin, information about its storage and safety, and all its possible uses ranging from cooking to personal care.
“European olive oil - a Mediterranean Lifestyle” is the core messaging of this project.
Overall, the project has very similar values and objectives to the agreement signed between COI and FAO.
The olive tree is an intangible world heritage, an ally of the environment - its thousands years of history can help build a healthy future for both the earth and its inhabitants, from Europe to Japan.
Source
https://www.foodweb.it/2021/06/olio-siglata-lintesa-tra-consiglio-oleicolo-internazionale-e-fao/
14 October 2021
