Tips for better olive production

At an SA Olive Association field day in November, industry experts shared ways to improve olive production efficiencies, from soil preparation to harvesting.

- Glenneis Kriel

Information and technologies that can improve productivity, efficiencies and profitability were highlighted at an SA Olive field day held recently near Riebeek Kasteel in the Western Cape.

Speaking at the event, Philippe Bohn, CEO of Pellenc South Africa, said the South African olive industry was a small international player, representing less than 1% of global production. Therefore it needed to focus on producing excellent-quality extravirgin olive oil at competitive prices.

Pruning and harvesting technologies would help, not only by reducing labour costs, but also improving olive oil quality by allowing farmers to harvest olives quickly at optimal ripeness.

LESSONS LEARNT

Cornel Broeksma, a horticulturist and soil scientist at Agri Motion, spoke about lessons learnt while helping to rehabilitate a neglected olive farm in Leeu Gamka. The 300ha of land under olive orchards produced 600t of olives in 2021, 1 070t in 2022 and 2 500t in 2023, despite unfavourable weather.