OLIVERO: the project analysing the future of olive production systems on sloping land in the Mediterranean basin.

From 2003 to 2006, a consortium of six European partners analysed the future of olive production systems on sloping land in the Mediterranean basin. Olive production on such land dates back to pre-Roman times, but the production systems (known by the acronym SMOPS, for "Sloping and Mountainous Olive Production Systems"), are under threat. Many are unsustainable environmentally (erosion hazard), socially (exodus of young people) or economically (high labour costs).