Thirty-nine participants attended the meeting among the stakeholders of the local olive oil value chain, including olive growers, researchers, oil mills, consultants and consumers.
The work went on for a whole day spent in the name of sharing and participation. The workshop's objective has been focused on: developing knowledge and strengthening the dissemination of agroforestry practices through free access to research results, identification and dissemination of good management practices and the exchange of knowledge between experts.
The conference was moderated by Andrea Pisanelli, Innovation Broker of the project for Italy, and researcher of the CNR-IBAF. The participants followed the technical-scientific presentations of CNR researchers Claudia Consalvo, Marco Ciolfi and Giuseppe Russo and Beniamino Tripodi, technician of the Pieralisi S.p.a. Group appreciating their practical cutting and applicability.
The topics discussed stimulated a constructive debate that have ranged from European policy (CAP) to the combination of olive-asparagus-chicken systems as best management practice, to the innovative systems for the reuse of the by-products of the mill in the second section. In the afternoon, after the visit to a silvo-pastoral system (olive tree and biological breeding of broilers and laying hens), participants assisted at training demonstration on pruning, held by Francesco Basili, stakeholder of the Italian RAIN.
According to Pierluigi Paris, of the CNR-IBAF and coordinator of the AFINET project for Italy, agroforestry can provide some solutions to enhance the olive growing in marginal areas, making a network on production quality, use of processing by-products and good farming practices of agro-ecology.