On 19 June, the Olive and Olive Oil Technology Centre (CITOLIVA) organised the conference ‘A changing olive grove’ at the ‘Fundación del Olivar’, which presented the latest advances that will make the olive grove sector more profitable and transform it. In addition, the aim of this conference was to present the results of the seven operational groups subsidised by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) of the Andalusian Regional Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.
Following the order established in the programme, firstly, the ‘Operational Group ITO-FOG: Intelligent Irrigation Control’ was presented under the slogan ‘Intelligent tool for the optimisation of irrigation in olive cultivation under different production frameworks’, with the participation of Citoliva, ‘Grupo Hispatec’, ‘Tecnova’, ‘Oleocampo S.C.A.’ and ‘Almazara de Lubrín‘. The aim of this project is to adapt irrigation to the needs of a crop that is increasingly affected by drought. To this end, an irrigation controller has been designed based on low-cost hardware and software systems that can be used intuitively with a cheap and simple application. In addition, it is enabled to be used through a mobile application or the web where farmers can consult data from low-cost weather stations and forecasts, with the aim of defining different irrigation strategies according to the conditions to which they are exposed, such as stopping irrigation if it is raining.
Preliminary results of the ‘OLIVE N-Ar Operational Group: Incorporation of inertisation in the stages of separation of solid and liquid phases in the olive oil production process in olive oil mills’ were then presented under the title ‘New chemical processes to avoid oil alterations’ led by Citoliva, the University Institute of Research on Olive Grove and Olive Oils (INUO) of the University of Jaén, ‘Amenduni Ibérica S. A.’ and ‘Oleocampo S.C.A.‘. This project aims to improve the quality of olive oils with the incorporation of nitrogen and other inert gases in different stages of the olive oil production process. Specifically, it consists of the inertisation of the separation operation of solid and liquid phases in the decanter, in the separation of liquid phases in the vertical centrifuge as well as in the stages after extraction. Furthermore, this project aims to demonstrate the economic viability of these chemical processes, comparing inertisation with nitrogen to the use of other inert gases such as argon.
Next, the ‘NIROLEO Operational Group: Innovation in the quality control of olive oil in oil mills through the use of NIRS sensors’ spoke on the subject of ‘New low-cost technology to control oils in situ’ with the participation of Citoliva, the University of Cordoba (UCO), the Business Association of Industrial Oil Mills of Cordoba (ACORA) and the ‘Baena D.O.’. The aim is to develop a new system based on NIRS technology that is capable of categorising and distinguishing extra virgin and virgin olive oils in situ. Near infrared analysis (NIR) is a spectroscopic technique where the electromagnetic spectrum is used in a natural way, with great application in the food industry. In this sense, NIROLEO proposes to develop low-cost and portable NIRS equipment to obtain results similar to those used in laboratories where it will be possible to classify olive oils with 85% reliability.
After the coffee break, the ‘Operational Group GREEN APP: Green alpeorujo processing plant’ was presented with the presentation ‘From alperujo to compost 4.0. the circular economy with olive mill waste’ led by Citoliva, ‘BTM Simbiosis’, Cetemet, the ‘Provincial Council of Jaén’ and ‘S.C.A. Oleícola Valdepeñas de Jaén’. This project has made it possible to convert an alperujo composting plant into an advanced industrial plant where it is possible to process a large amount of alperujo in less time, obtaining a high quality compost that can be marketed as fertiliser, making it an economically viable model. Furthermore, it has been observed that the implementation of this model reduces CO2 emissions, eliminates the by-products produced by an oil mill, especially the most polluting ones, and reduces composting times, increasing economic viability.
Subsequently, the ‘NUTRISAN Operational Group: Sustainable management of nutrition and health of the olive grove’ took the floor with the theme ‘Research in olive grove management. A sustainable, efficient and profitable treatment’, with the participation of Citoliva, the University of Cordoba (UCO) and ‘COAG Jaén’. This project arises as a response to the current problem of the abuse of agrochemicals when it comes to providing nutrients to crops, which has negative consequences for the environment and increases farm costs for farmers. Thus, the Nutrisan project was created to demonstrate that the significant reduction in the use of agrochemicals in olive groves does not reduce production, increases the quality of the oil and significantly reduces production costs.
This was followed by the presentation of the ‘COOPERALIVE Operational Group: Profitable and sustainable olive groves 4.0′ with a talk entitled ‘Living olive groves also in the cooperative. A new line of business’ led by Citoliva, Seo Bird Life, ‘Interóleo’ and the Provincial Council of Jaén. The aim of this project is to promote the ‘Olivares Vivos’ model among Andalusian cooperatives with the aim of transferring to members the competitive advantages already achieved by private estate owners who have opted for environmentally friendly olive groves and have achieved benefits in economic terms, without additional costs and developing a new line of business with a differentiated product.
Finally, the ‘Operational Group PREDIC I: Prototype system for the early prediction of the olive harvest’ intervened under the theme ‘Artificial intelligence that predicts the harvest in March’ led by experts from the ‘Centro Tecnológico del Olivar’ and the University of Jaén, in collaboration with ‘Cetemet’, ‘Cooperativas Agro-Alimentarias de Jaén’ and ‘Nutesca’. The aim of this project is to develop a prototype using Artificial Intelligence that will allow olive growers to know earlier the production of their olive groves and even when flowering is going to start in the olive groves of the estate.
