On last February 16^th, 2023, the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI), the Regional Forest Agency for Land and Environment of Sardinia (Fo.Re.S.T.A.S.) and the whole LIVINGAGRO Consortium hosted the third B2B event on Multifunctional Olive Systems (MOS) in Beirut. With a strong participation exceeding 100 attendees, the event highlighted the growing interest of stakeholders in agroforestry issues, especially those related to olive systems in the Mediterranean region. Throughout the day, experts and acclaimed speakers from Lebanon, Italy and Greece shared their experiences and addressed various issues and innovative solutions with farmers, entrepreneurs, local administrators, researchers, private companies, policy makers and a multitude of stakeholders in Lebanon interested in agroforestry issues.

The Seminar

Dr. Milad El Riachy, the Coordinator of the LIVINGAGRO project for LARI, delivered the welcoming speech on behalf of Dr. Michel Afram, the General Director and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) highlighting that the project provides farmers with a concrete support based on state-of-the-art innovations and scientific methods, allowing them to develop their agricultural skills and capabilities. Dr. El Riachy invited farmers to reach out to experts through the ICT Platform created for this purpose allowing farmers to find information about all initiatives and research conducted  by LARI and the other international partners in the framework of the LIVINGAGRO initiative. In his turn, Dr. Peter Moubarak, the Project Manager for LARI, presented the achievements of the project during the last three years with a focus on the implemented field trials, field visits, e-learning modules, previous B2B events and other activities.

Dr. Antonio Casula, Director General of Forestas, welcomed participants to the event, while Dr. Maurizio Malloci, Director of Technical Service of Forestas-Italy and project coordinator, presented an overview of Forestas’ ongoing efforts for cross-border cooperation with Mediterranean partner countries through several European funded projects. Also speaking on behalf of Forestas, the Project Manager, Dr. Sara Maltoni, underlined the fruitful cooperation among the countries taking part in the LIVINGAGRO project and the achieved results, among which the establishment of two Living Laboratories for Agroforestry Systems, namely one for Multifunctional Olive Systems (MOS) and one for Grazed Woodlands.  In her speech, Dr. Maltoni emphasized the importance of agroforestry to face the challenges of climate change, affirming the role of the Living Laboratories as an open innovation environment aiming to support farmers and create interaction between stakeholders through ground-breaking technologies to increase the technology transfer of innovations in this field.

After this short introduction to the project, it was time for the presentation of the innovations in the field of MOS.

Prof. Theodore Tsiligiridis, Professor of Information and Communication Technology at the Agricultural University of Athens in Greece, presented the FuitFlyNet-ii Project as an innovation based on an automated monitoring and control system against the olive fly and Mediterranean fruit fly.

Dr. Claudio Porqueddu from the CNR-ISPAAM in Italy, tackled the benefits and objectives of using innovative legume-based mixtures as cover crops. These include achieving sustainable soil management, preventing soil erosion, reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers, improving carbon sequestration while retaining olive oil production.

Dr. Milad El Riachy focused on the “Time Domain-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance” (TD-NMR) as a useful tool to determine the oil content in olive paste offering a new alternative to determine the oil content in olive fruits in a short and cost effective way. Dr. El Riachy pointed out that this innovation depends on the absorption of radiofrequency radiation by an atomic nucleus in an intense magnetic field.

Dr. Andrea Pisanelli from the CNR-IRET in Italy, joined online  to describe the traditional practice of using cover crops and green manure systems (olive pruning residues) as a sustainable and environmentally friendly model in agroforestry, emphasizing its ability to support olive cultivation, provide fodder for grazing animals in times of forage shortage, ultimately offering a  sustainable method that provides social, economic and environmental benefits by improving soil fertility, providing natural habitat for beneficial organisms and reducing the cost of production mainly by reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides.

Dr. Antonio Brunori, Director of PEFC Italy, presented a study on the marketing and expansion of agroforestry systems through the Pan European Forest Certification Program (PEFC) stating that this initiative is led by an international non-governmental non-profit organization dedicated to promotion of sustainable forest management through independent third-party certification and that recently the organization developed a standard specifically addressed to Agroforestry Systems, as a way to address market needs for sustainably managed systems.

Dr. Luciana Baldoni from CNR-IBBR in Italy, discussed the effects of climate change on olive orchards revealing an exploration methodology to identify and test climate-adapted and stress-tolerant olive varieties, calling for a wide survey at the regional level within traditional olive orchards, possibly including old trees.

Prof. Prokopios Magiatis from the National and Kapodistrian University in Greece introduced the Olive Predictor, a device consisting of a mini press that includes a small mill, a mini mixer and a centrifugal system capable of producing a sufficient amount of oil. This predictor helps to make the best choice of harvesting time, aiming to achieve the best compromise in terms of quantity and quality.

Dr. Abdel Kader El Hajj from LARI in Lebanon discussed the results of a two-years experiment carried out within the LIVINGAGRO project to assess green manure and cover crops effects on soil characteristics and olive orchard productivity in the town of Abra (south Lebanon). Dr. El Hajj presented details of the experiment, highlighting the land problems and how it benefited from the cover crops and agroforestry methods.

The other sessions and the event outcomes

Following the event’s schedule, after the conference attendees had the opportunity to participate in open discussions through a Q&A session with experts and representatives of the LIVINGAGRO consortium, focusing on how to implement or further develop the innovations in their farms or research labs, and how to maintain the productivity of the system by using state-of-the-art scientific methods and innovations.

The high response and increasing participation in events of the series exceeding expectations of the LIVINGAGRO partnership highlighted the significant interest of farmers to increase and improve their production and reduce costs while experimenting and implementing new farming techniques as well as practices. Participants to the third B2B event on Multifunctional Olive Systems expressed their gratitude in relation to the organization of the initiative affirming that it contributed to the enhancement of their technical knowledge supporting them to operate in their agricultural activity in an integrated and holistic manner.