<< Background >>EU is the largest producer of olive oil at global level, accounting for 69% of world’s production. In the last 3 years, the average production in Spain reached 1.3 mln tonnes per year.Almost the totality of the production is obtained in 4 Member States: Spain (63%), Italy (17%), Greece (14%) & Portugal (5%); together cover around 99% of the production in the EU.Other important olive oil producing countries are Croatia & Cyprus (EC/News/04.Feb.2020/Agriculture & rural development). OlivaEco partnership includes members from all thesecountries except Greece.Among the key findings of the ‘Study on the implementation of conformity checks in the olive oil sector throughout the EU’, published by the European Commission on 04/02/2020, isthe lack of resources either in terms of staff or in terms of funding.On the other side, on a global scale, the organic food market has been thriving with sales of organic foods in the EU above €40 billion. Realizing it has strong potential, many olivefarmers have been switching to organic olive farming. However, organic olives & olive oil (OO&OO) are both high quality products with high value compared to other types & shouldcertified by competent quality bodies in each Member State. The production of OO&OO ensures a better quality for the final consumer & a better price for the producer. It alsocontributes to the sustainability of the agriculture production & environment protection since it does not use chemicals or other artificial fertilizers.In all cases, all organic production rules must be met in order the final product (the olive oil) to be allowed to be marketed as such. The initial period or the three year transition period isquite difficult for the producers. During that time they require more support - both technically & economically. Besides, they need good training in order to be well prepared for thisperiod as well as for the actual process of OO&OO production.For EU OO&OO producer, the knowledge & competences they must master are quite multi-folded:- maintain & renew the old olive groves- develop new plantations with more productive varieties- master organic production techniques/treatments to fight most dangerous diseases (olive moth & olive fly & Xylella fastidiosa)- strengthen the processing & innovate with new organic products (dry olives; olives with herbs, olive paste, stuffed olives, olive oil with garlic/herbs/additional flavours, etc.)- better promote traditional products (vacuum or canned olives, olive oil, etc.)- valorize the important natural & cultural heritage associated with the olive groves (landscapes, dry stone walls, ancient hydraulic systems, biodiversity, etc.) through touristic activities- transform to organic production to enhance their competitiveness & respond better to the growing market demand.<< Objectives >>EcoOlive shall envisage the development of a thorough & interactive course in organic olives & olive oil production & marketing, Manual for trainers, Platform with interactive repository section, Guide on certification of organic olives & olive oil & utilization of olive groves’ potential”.The aim of the project is to enhance the competitiveness of the EU olive farmers & olive oil producers through development of their potential for production & promotion of organic olives & olive oil.The main objectives shall be to:- enhance the development opportunities & boost the growth potential of EU olive farmers & olive oil producers by entering a market of organic olives & olive oil;- develop specific knowledge & competences in the EU olive farmers & olive oil producers to produce & promote OO&OOs by providing a transversal, multidisciplinary & tailor-madetraining on organic olives & olive oil production, pest control & promotion;- remind & develop awareness that the olives & olive groves are part of the cultural, historical & landscape heritage of the country;- encourage the application of organic farming & production approaches among new & existing olive farmers & olive oil producers.- promote wider use of organic olives & olive oil among EU customers.EcoOlives consortium includes partners from the 3 of the top 4 olive oil producing countries in EU & 5 of the top 10. Thus, the final outputs will be made applicable & will be disseminated among the majority of the olive & olive oil producers in EU.<< Implementation >>The main objectives of the proposal are to: enhance the growth potential of EU olive & olive oil producers; to develop their knowledge and competences in the production andpromotion of organic olive & olive oil through a transversal, multidisciplinary and tailor-made training to their specific needs; to increase the support they receive & to encourage theapplication of organic farming and production approaches among the target groups as well as to remind & develop awareness about the potential of the olive groves as part of thenational heritage.To achieve the defined objective the partnership will develop the following outputs:* development of an integrated, holistic and comprehensive training course in production & marketing of organic olives & olive il with strong focus on the organic farming methods; howto prevent, control & fight pest and diseases in the groves (with specific focus on P. oleae, B. oleae & Xylella fastidiosa); branding and marketing of a specific items like organic olives(&olive products) & olive oils and awareness about the place of the olive groves in the heritage & culture of the region.* creation of a e-learning platform that will enable to trainees to undergo the training materials in their own pace and time combined with a rich interactive repository consisting ofvarious materials (text, videos, interactive resources) that will support the trainees in their learning process and will enhance their skills and competences in the both topics.<< Results >>The EcoOlive partners will commence with the development of a Learning model that will lay down the basis, structure & methodology of the training course. Based on it, the partners will elaborate the content for the Training course & for the Manual for trainers. Each partner will create certain sections & units of the course based on their experience, knowledge and know-how on the topic. To further facilitate the trainees, the partners will develop also an Interactive repository & section with tests and exercises to support them in the process of learning & acquiring new skills & enhancing their own competences and knowledg on the topic of organic production & marketing of olives and olive oil.