The encouraging of olive cultivation as a potential for the economic development of the region is the focus of a project being implemented between the municipality, Nikolaos Skoufas in Greece, the Vlora Region Council and the Municipality of Berat.
In a statement to Albanian Teleghraphic Agencz (ATSH), the Mayor of the Vlora District Council, Ervis Mocka, stops at the impacts of the implementation of this project on the development of agro-tourism, as well as of households and businesses dealing with olive cultivation in the Region of Vlora.
With a stretch in the coastal lowland, Vlora Region includes traditional olive cultivation terraces, which with the proper technical support and then following a marketing line for domestic production, can be oriented towards European markets and beyond.The Olive Culture project, expected to start in April, according to Mocka, is implemented under the Cross-border Program Greece-Albania 2014-2020.
The partners in this project are the Municipality of Nikolaos Skoufas (Greece), the Technological Institute of Art (Greece), the Ionian University, the Vlora Region and the Municipality of Berat. Concretely, the Municipality of Nikolaos Skoufas in Greece is known for its tradition of olive cultivation.
"By exchanging experiences and knowledge transfer, the project aims to improve olive cultivation techniques by encouraging the autochthonous olive-growing and encouragement of agribusiness activities and creating three parallel centers in Nikolaos Skoufas in Greece, Vlora and Berat." Said Moçka for ATSH.
These will be information centers, training, exchange of knowledge, search and activation of an integrated management system, including all actors and stakeholders in the territory.
The knowledge and experience gained will be further presented at European fairs for olive and agribusiness in Spain, France and Germany.
E-olive, a project that links olive oil to world markets
In 2014-2016 the Vlora Regional Council has completed another project of E-olive
According to the Chairman of the Vlora Regional Council, the implementation of this project aimed at improving the quality of olive oil through innovative tools. The project was implemented within the framework of the cross-border program Greece-Albania 2007-2013.
It has been implemented by the Vlora Region Council in partnership with the Ionian University, the Ionian Islands Region (based in Corfu), the Agricultural Technological Treatment Center and the Vlora Chamber of Commerce. The Vlora Regional Council was the leader of the Albanian side in this project.
The implementation pilot area in Albania was in Xara, Konispol, while in Greece the project was implemented in Corfu.
"The main purpose of the project was to create a mechanism through the use of technology to alert and prevent olives from flying fly disease, which affects the production and the quality of olive oil," said Mocka.
According to him, this platform continues to be active at all times and is part of a larger marketing platform, not just at the project level, but a far-reaching European program that enables every interested party in the world to access domestic production.