Local context / Issue:

The main challenge for the farmers of the showcase (i.e., traditional olive groves) is to increase their competitiveness in the the market, which is negatively affected by a lack of innovation and generational turnover, and the low stability of production of olive groves over the years.
This could be improved with digitalisation and innovation transfer as ways to optimise agricultural practices and counteract the abandonment of land, especially promoting Integrated Pest Management practices.
The challenge is “How can the competitiveness of traditional olive groves (compared to more recent intensive olive plantations) be improved, and what methodology can be used to manage olive pests through Integrated Pest Management, in order to limit their abandonment?”

Showcase Outlook

Wheat ears, vineyards and olive trees stretch as far as the eyes can see. The essence of Italy reveals, in Tuscany, an unforgettable beauty. Romanticised by our cultural imaginary, this landscape expresses the myth of the Mediterranean heritage like no other place. However, not all Tuscany refers us to those iconic movies and books. Near Pisa, the picture hikes the hills of Monti Pisani surrounded by chestnut and pine trees. And it is here, on prominent dry-stone terraces, where the olive trees have watched the Tuscan plain for centuries.
The time seems to stand still. But the stillness and tranquillity cannot hide the challenges the olive oil sector is facing today. Here and everywhere. Fortunately, local olive growers do not give up. For what it means for them and their traditions but, above all, for what it represents for Tuscany. In economy, a turnover of almost 130 million euro.
In a competitive global market and an aggressive context caused by inflation and growing inputs costs, PATH2DEA has noted how these farmers are willing to enhance their competitiveness; how innovation can combat the lack of generational turnover and the worrying decline in production during recent years.
The fame of the olive oil born from the buttresses of Monti Pisani, recognized by the appellation IGP Toscano – sottozona Monti Pisani, is living under a threat. And digitalisation can be the answer to reverse this situation, optimising agricultural practices and counteracting the abandonment of land.
In front of the intensive olive plantations from the plain, farmers in Monti Pisani are looking for solutions to, first, ensure a regular productivity and, second, to add more value to their heroic farming. Because working all over the steep slopes, picking the olives by hand, making a cold-pressed oil in on-site mills, expressing the finest of Moraiolo, Leccino or Pendolino varieties, selling directly to the consumer, and fostering the local economy is all falling on their shoulders. And sometimes it can feel overwhelming.
Increasing the sustainability and the profitability of olive farming is, therefore, imperative. Their main concerns are improving farm management and monitoring pests and diseases. More answers are needed to tailor Decision Support Systems for small-scale olive farms. These are the challenges expressed in the PAT2DEA workshops.
Only by addressing and providing tangible solutions to these -to their- identified problems, Tuscany can safeguard the olive trees. And with them, the whole essence of Italy and the spirit of the Mediterranean.