The Competiolivar project has begun the work of pre-evaluating biodiversity on the Albares farm, located in the municipal term of Beas de Segura (Jaén). This is an initiative promoted by the Territorial Innovation Center (CIT), which drives a strategy that combines sustainability and innovation through farming practices that are respectful of the natural environment and that generate greater added value for the products obtained.
So he explained this Sunday in a statement the second vice president of the Provincial Council and deputy for Institutional Relations, Javier Perales, after a recent technical visit to this olive-growing holding.
"The Sierra de Segura is at a crucial moment to transform its agricultural sector, especially olive groves, which account for 80 percent of the crops in the area," he said.
Along these lines, he emphasized that "in this region, a range of training and advisory actions is being developed aimed at stopping the loss of biodiversity, adding value to alperujo through the production of co-products such as biochar and compost, improving water management through hydroinfiltrations, and moving forward with digitizing agricultural activity through a system of cooperatives."
The interventions currently being carried out on the Albacares farm are integrated into line 1 of the Competiolivar project, titled "Conversion of traditional olive groves to sustainable models that stop the loss of biodiversity."
This axis includes the implementation of the Olivares Vivos model, an olive-growing system designed to make the use of olive groves compatible with the conservation of nature. The starting point is the preparation of biodiversity studies that make it possible to know the conservation status of the flora and fauna linked to olive groves in the work unit selected in this municipality.
To carry out these field tasks, the entity SEO/BirdLife assumes responsibility for sampling and analysis; whose results will serve as a basis for drafting five action plans aimed at the recovery of biodiversity. These documents will include measures such as improving the management of herbaceous cover crops, restoring native vegetation in non-productive areas, and installing infrastructure to support wildlife.
In the same way, these interventions will constitute the first step so that these olive groves can access the Olivares Vivos certification and take advantage of the added value provided by the recovery of biodiversity on the farms.
"Competiolivar is a very ambitious initiative that shows that there is another way to manage the olive grove and to produce our most emblematic product, extra virgin olive oil, one of the main benchmarks of the province of Jaén," the second vice president of the Provincial Council has stated, who has also highlighted that "this project contributes to strengthening the local economy, curbing depopulation, and preserving the natural environment".