Jose Pedro Olivira, who stands under a huge olive tree, stands and supports his urgent trunk. “He is more than 1000 years old. Perhaps more than Christ,” he says. It is located near Serpa, in the soft hills in Alentejo, in southeast Portugal, and is of 30 Hectare Olive Grove part of Oak mosaic Fruit trees, pastures and agricultural lands that moved from generation to generation.
From his family, Oliveira inherited his last name, which means “olives” in Portuguese, and traditional landscapes InstalledAgosilvopastoal system combines production Preservation. “Many of these trees are thousands of years, but they are still fruitful. It is a living museum,” he says proudly. Every year, visitors come to enjoy huge trees and study 17 local olive varieties in the olive garden.
Olivira hectare preserved An increasingly varied varied scene in AlentejoWith the expansion of the huge olive trees and the replacement of traditional orchards. “It is an amazing contrast. The only thing they share is that it is the same type,” he says. Unlike the dry olive grove, with deep roots and long life, irrigation farms can contain up to 2500 trees per hectare, planted in uniform rows and only a few decades last.
These cultures use very fruitful dwarfs that adapt to the mechanization, which achieve very high returns. but, They depend on irrigationHeavy machines and Agricultural chemical productsWhich causes soil erosion and loss of biological diversity.
The artificial lake that feeds the olive oil empire in Portugal
Throughout the Alentejo, the uniform hedges of olive trees extend beyond the scene. The irrigated farms in the area have expanded quickly in the past two decades with Water supply From Alqueva Tank, The largest artificial lake in Western Europe.
The tank is designed with public funds Contributing to economic growth in one of the poorest regions And the dryness of the continent. But the irrigation benefited above all the large business groups that benefit from the excellent farms of olive trees.
According to Edia, the public company that runs the Alqueva reservoir, More than 80 % of its water is used on water farms Intensive olive trees and almond trees. In 2024, the water was presented to 74,059 hectares of olive orchids, most of which are from the huge hedge. A few large companies such as Elaia, Prado and AGGARRIA, some of the largest producers olive oil From the world, they control most irrigation lands in the region.
Building the Kufa Dam on the Guodiana River, which was proposed by dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar in the fifties, The water was flooded 25,000 hectares from the groundDestroy ecosystems and indulge people from light, as well as dozens of archaeological deposits.
more than Million trees. Some old trees They cultivated before the floodAnd now they decorate the gardens and squares all over the Alentejo, and they are marginalized as the other missing landscapes. Susanna Sassette, Olivum Director, a association that represents Olivicoltors With about 50,000 hectares of olive grovesHe says that thanks to the Portugal Dam, he became one of the world’s leading olive oil exporters.
Since the start of the dam in 2002, olive oil exports They have doubled by 12 depending on size He says that 18 in value, reaching about 900 million euros annually. intensification Olive oil production It was driven by the incentives of the joint agricultural policy of the European Union and the increase in global demand for olive oil. From 2007 to 2020, the Portuguese Olive Sector received more than 1,000 million euros as agricultural benefits.
EDIA President Jose Pedro Sahima confirms that the dam plays an important strategic role to ensure water supplies to the region and create job opportunities and Investments attracted. However, intensive, very mechanical farms, mainly depend on seasonal and bad migrant workers.
Al -Sadd did not stop cutting the rural population. Between 2011 and 2021, ALENTEJO lost more than 52,000 peopleThe biggest demographic retreat in Portugal.
The environmental impact of intense olive farms
Although Alqueva irrigation system and intense farms of olive trees It was very profitable for investors In the short term, there is increased concern for environmental costs. Scientists and Nasib environment have warned that the intense culture of the olive tree in southern Portugal It turns a varied natural view In monotonous rows of intense farms, harmful ecosystems, polluted water and soil with Agricultural chemical products.
Leriza Pinto Korea, Professor at Evora University specializing in rural landscapes, public investments in the Al Qaeda Dam Above all, they benefited from a small group of large companies And foreign investors. This has caused the concentration of the Earth and an unequal distribution of water at artificially low.
“he Water You should take into account the infrastructure, which not only includes the costs of building the dam, but also on irrigation channels, the transportation of water and electricity needed to pump water at already long distances, which are very expensive. “But this is not reflected in the price that users pay.
propagandaIt represents the dam The greatest public investment It was made in agriculture in the modern history of Portugal, at a cost of 2.5 billion euros. Edia plans to expand irrigation to cover another 470 square kilometers, a project that will also be funded with public funds.
“Many companies (using Alqueva Water) Investment funds focused on interest And completely separated from the region. Pinto Correia says: He is not thinking about enhancing a sustainable future for future generations. It is concerned about getting these benefits at the expense of the natural resources of the ALEO, with any supervision or organization.
Zero, one of the main environmental organizations in Portugal, Endowed expanded expansion From the unit in Alentejo. Pedro Horta, head of zero policies, documented Many rape and environmental violationsSuch as the destruction of vital water networks, the damage to protected areas and priority habitats, as well as harmful agricultural practices that cause Corrosion and soil degradation.
“Given the shift in the landscape They have caused an important loss of biological diversity And environmental destruction. According to an EDIA report, it has only intense farms of traditional olive groves.
propagandaAnother study, conducted by a team of researchers from various Portuguese universities, How to reduce the expansion of excellent agricultural systems significantly Diversity and decrease in bird societies in the olive orchids of the Mediterranean.
Climate change exacerbates water stress
For many, the current track It cannot be affected in an area that is increasingly affected by dehydration Severe meteorological phenomena. A study conducted by Agroges Adviser predicts that climate change The demand for water will increase on irrigated olive groves Between 5 % and 21 %, while the average annual contributions of the Alqueva tank will decrease between 5 % and 10 % from here to 2050.
“We will not have enough water“Pinto Korea says. Climate.
It is resting under the centenary olive tree for centuries of dryness, storms and natural disasters, Jose Pedro Olivira trusts that, unlike the irrigated farms, its dry dry lands with dry olive garden. You will continue to be impressive for generations.
propagandaThis project was supported by Climate Arena.
