ARTOLIO Israel: The project officially initiates its most important phase to date, dedicated to the promotion of its farmers

The ARTOLIO team meets once again, this time in Israel, one of the oldest olive oil producing territories in the world. There, among the ancient trees and the deep-rooted culture of the area, the ARTOLIO team will meet at the end of February, between the 18th and the 24th, to discuss the progress of the project and future goals.

During the first few days, between the 19th and 21st, the partners will partake into trips to both Jerusalem and Nazareth, between meetings. The intention is to grasp a better understanding of local culture and traditions, to strengthen the bonds between the partners of the project. It is the first time most of the partners will visit the area, si it’s an awaited opportunity. In addition, annual reports, accounting, and management by the new project management team will be discussed in those days. Some meetings will take place at Eshkol, the project's partner institution, where the results of various researches have been carried out and are waiting to be reviewed.

The partners will also go on a field trip to the fields of local farmers on the 22nd and 24th to observe the cultivation process of olive groves in the Israeli and Palestinian areas. Their shared passion for olive oil production is a peaceful activity that involves both cultures and help them coexist, and it’s a testament to their will to cooperate.

Among the objectives of the event, the presentation of the new and finalized platform, whose function will be to disseminate and provide service to farmers, stands out. Its main task is to put producers and potential customers in contact with each other, to promote trade from local areas in a more international environment.

Jesús F. Gordillo, ARTOLIO's Marketing and Communication Manager, comments: “Now the second key phase of the project begins, and we’ll make sure our farmers are known, using all the tools at our disposal. We’re talking about public relations, programmatic advertising and diffusion in the international market.” As he explains, he announces that there is an awareness and marketing plan to show the potential of ARTOLIO ENI CBC MED farmers, and the plan will be discussed throughout the meeting with the rest of the partners.

In addition, among the objectives of the meeting, there will be a review of the organoleptic results of the last year, with the intention of determining which oils have reached the extra virgin level. This was one of the objectives at the beginning of the project, and this is the chance to discover which parts and areas need strengthening

The last day of meetings will be the 23rd, where everything learned during the event will be discussed at round tables. This is the day in which the plan for the remainder of the project will be decided. The general consensus seems to be that emphasis will be given to the communication section of ARTOLIO, with the intention of promoting the farmers, thus starting the second phase of the project.

ARTOLIO, in addition to focusing on process improvement, sustainability and energy efficiency, has contributed to establishing a new level of superior quality for extra virgin olive oil. 

These measures has improved the local economy of the participating countries as well as to provide the rural world and/or agricultural sector with tools that will help place the product on the market, but also to position its quality and give it visibility in other spaces of international scope.

Members of the Mediterranean countries of Israel, Greece, France, Cyprus, Palestine and Spain are participating in the project. ARTOLIO is coordinated by the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO Volcani Center and partners from the Beit Hakerem Cluster - Israel), Palestinian Centre for Agriculture Research and Development (Palestine), American Farm School Post-Secondary Educational and Training Association (Greece), Hellenic Agricultural Organization DEMETER (Greece), Department of Agriculture – Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment (Cyprus), University of Jaén (Spain), and Kellenfol Advertising S.L. (Spain).

ARTOLIO is funded by the European Union under the ENI CBC Med Programme. It has a total budget of €2.9 million, with 90% of the funding provided by the European Union (€2.6 million).

For more information, please visit the project website: http://www.enicbcmed.eu/projects/artolio