Agriculture: ENEA and FAO take stock of pesticide-free oil production

The adoption of an integrated pest management technique in agriculture – specially in olive groves -  has created a virtuous circle allowing its diffusion among farmers in Italy but also in Spain, Greece, Mexico and Tunisia.

Canino, an area in Northern Latium, has become an Italian success story and a great example of collaboration between the world of research – ENEA - and the world of production.

In the eighties a new integrated method to manage olive pests, alternative to chemical pesticides, was used for the first time in Italy in Canino, an area in the Viterbo Province (Latium Region). The initiative, whose original author was Ugo Cirio, phytopathologist at ENEA, has brought about significant environmental, social and economic benefits. Particularly, the dramatic reduction in the use of pesticides and the abandonment of a calendar based approach has yielded savings of approximately 100 thousand euro per year in the last thirty years, and has prevented soil contamination from pesticides.

This data was presented at the Conference “Socio-economic assessment of integrated pest management in Canino” organized by ENEA and FAO to share with local communities and farmers the long-term environmental and socio-economic results accomplished. Leading experts and researchers reviewed this method, among FAO best practices within IMPRESA, a European project that analyzes the use of new technologies in agriculture. It was highlighted that the adoption of an integrated pest management technique has created a virtuous circle allowing its diffusion among farmers of Northern Latium but also in Spain, Greece, Mexico and Tunisia.  “ENEA’s activity has entailed the analysis of the social, economic and technological sustainability to reduce the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture and promote an ecological approach – Gaetano Borrelli, Head of the ENEA Studies and Strategies Unit explained – In the latest years Canino has become an Italian success story that has allowed the ‘Oleificio Sociale Cooperativo of Canino*’ to grow”. The integrated pest management in agriculture developed in the eighties proves to be a thoroughly modern practice, consistent with both the European directives obliging farmers to adopt integrated pest management practices and with PAN, the national action plan for the sustainable use of plant protection products.  “Ultimately - Borrelli remarked - Canino can be considered an example of productive and useful collaboration between the world of research and the world of production. It’s worth remembering that Canino oil is a PDO product (Protected Designation of Origin) and the product specification mentions that Canino olive groves utilize integrated pest management practices”.

For more information please contact:

Gaetano Borrelli, ENEA Headquarters, gaetano.borrelli@enea.it

Maurizio Calvitti, ENEA Casaccia Research Center, maurizio.calvitti@enea.it

ENEA-FAO Agreement to develop techniques for control of olive pests

*(Cooperative Oil Mill)