Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek prime minister, has pledged to restore the Amfissa olive grove, one of several agricultural territories of the country that suffered extensive damages from wildfires in the summer.
The Amfissa grove, situated in central Greece, is the country’s largest continuously cultivated olive grove and a hallmark of the Delphi landscape.
We aim to transform this unique characteristic of the Delphi landscape into a productive olive grove and combine the agricultural production with cultural and recreational activities.
Thousands of olive trees, mainly of the Protected Designation of Origin-certified Konservolia Amfissis table olive variety, were destroyed by the blaze that broke out in the region last July.
“A total of 60,000 olive trees will be planted in the area to replace those that were burned in the fire,” Mitsotakis said during a visit to the area.
See Also:In Greece, Millers Call for Subsidies to Soften Impact of Rising CostsThe prime minister added that the iconic olive grove could also foster more activities than cultivating olive trees.
“We aim to transform this unique characteristic of the Delphi landscape into a productive olive grove and combine the agricultural production with cultural and recreational activities, “he said.
View of the Amfissa olive grove (Photo: Dennis Jarvis via Wikimedia Commons)
According to the prime minister, the necessary funds to revive the Amfissa grove have already been secured from both public and private sources. Mitsotakis also noted that the olives and olive oil of the Amfissa grove should be premium priced.
“It is impossible for the olive oil and olives produced in the Amfissa grove not to be sold for much more than the oils and olives produced in other groves which don’t have the enormous historical weight of the country’s largest olive grove, which is completely identified with the Delphi landscape,” he said.
“So, we need a brand name, the ‘Sacred Delphi’ or something similar, to show producers that there is a future,” Mitsotakis added. “There is more added value. Our intention is not to sell our olive oil to Italy in bulk, but to gain the added value ourselves.”
At the same time, the prime minister suggested that the Amfissa olive grove become a “lab of innovation” to seek ways to improve yields in olive oil production.
“We will work with the best,” he said. “I had the chance to discuss the matter with the president of Microsoft. I told him to bring Microsoft to the Amfissa grove and see how we can initiate innovative actions to increase productivity and reduce our environmental footprint in olive oil production.”
“I can say that he was thrilled,” Mitsotakis concluded. “The big corporations see the added value in such collaborations.”
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