September 23, 2021

FARMERS’ MANIFESTO

live oil artisans are scattered throughout Italy. The country is so diverse that the individual geographic and weather conditions that help shape each region’s olive oil should be considered.

“Farmers’ Extra Virgin Olive Oil”

The olive oils made by farmers seldom reach supermarket shelves. Farmers are under-represented in a sector they believe is dominated by larger companies and producers, with scale economies and industrialized processes.

Small olive oil farmers have banded together in Italy to form a new federation focused on preserving their culture and native olive cultivars. The Italian Federation of Independent Olive Growers founders said that it will be the home for growers and millers considered to be “olive oil artisans.”

“We claim the right to exist and to express our identity on the labels and the shelves”. Our Umbrian Farmers

“We respect foreign olive oil cultures but reject the import of agronomic and technological models or varieties and hybrids that could pervert our national identity”

Olive farms do not have anything to share with the world of the olive oil industry. Farmers preserve and protect the land by personally ensuring strict monitoring of the whole production chain.

Artisanal extra virgin olive oil and mass-produced olive oil should be considered and evaluated differently, as they are separate products with their own organoleptic characteristics, selling prices, and customer bases.

Olive oil’s farmers must distinguish themselves from the olive oil commodity producers, whose product is sold on the market at lower prices.

“The current dynamics of the olive oil market have proven to be challenging not only for small farmers but also for the final consumers”

It’s our call to support micro-producers to safeguard the historic Italian cultivars, re-discovering and promoting them.

Our goal is to make producers help each other and form a specific market, projected well beyond our national borders where our high-quality green gold is often more appreciated.

Italian micro farmers can offer unparalleled quality declinations, a multitude of flavors and scents. This is why we want to put Italian olive oil culture at the heart of this project.

“Italy counts on the widest olive heritage in the world with more than 580 olive tree cultivars, a variety of the farming lands and the different micro-climates, all of which are precious assets that could be lost”