Sustainability of olive groves in Portugal 129 Chapter three examines the main olive-growing systems (traditional, vase and hedgerow) in greater depth, highlighting their key characteristics and using a comparative table (Figure 33 of the document, p. 104, reproduced here). The traditional olive grove older Figure 33 – Olive grove production systems Source: Author’s own work system (prevalent worldwide), which is less profitable and productive, with output determined by the ‘alternate bearing’ cycle, practised as rain-fed farming and in combination with other crops to supplement income, has gradually been abandoned or replaced by the vase and hedgerow systems, or maintained thanks to CAP support. The vase olive grove, which emerged in the 1990s, is more productive than the traditional olive grove; it predominates in terms of area and is mainly cultivated under irrigation. Finally, the hedgerow olive grove, which is more recent, more productive, easier to mechanise and cultivated under irrigation, reaches full production more quickly. Chapter four addresses the major challenges to the sustainability of olive groves from an economic, environmental and social perspective, by type of production system. For the economic analysis, the variables used include yield, productivity, production costs (e.g. intermediate consumption, labour, fixed capital), investment, the price of olives and olive oil, and irrigation requirements for alternative crops. For the environmental analysis, the study examines the use of soil, water resources, fertilisers and pesticides, carbon sequestration, the impact on biodiversity and the landscape, and sustainable production methods. As for the social analysis, it draws on variables relating to employment and demography. Some findings from this chapter suggest that the use of modern, research-backed techniques can provide: — economic sustainability (greater profitability and resilience of the hedgerow olive grove; vase and hedgerow olive groves have lower irrigation requirements compared to alternative crops; increased importance of olive growing in national agricultural production); — environmental sustainability (soil protection5 ; lower water requirements compared with other irrigated crops6 ; good agricultural practices prevent water and soil contamination7 ; lower need for pesticide application compared with other permanent crops8 ; greater carbon sequestration capacity compared with traditional olive groves9 ; good agricultural practices prevent the reduction of biodiversity caused by vase and 5 “hedgerow and vase olive groves ensure good levels of soil protection against water erosion, improved soil organic matter levels and a lower potential for soil salinisation” (p.120) 6 “olive groves are one of the irrigated crops with the lowest water requirements for irrigation” (p.123) 7 “fertilisation of olive groves, carried out in the modern and rational manner described above, will have no negative impacts either on the contamination of surface water and groundwater or on soil salinity or acidity” (p.130) 8 “Olive groves have an average application rate of just 2.3 kg of active ingredient per hectare, a figure that is considerably lower than the average application rates for the other permanet crops discussed" (p.134) 9 "Carbon sequestration in a hedgerow olive grove is around nine times higher than that achieved by a traditional olive grove” (p.142)
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