Spain’s Senate Backs Greater Support for Traditional Olive Groves

Spain’s Senate formally backed greater support for traditional olive groves after its Agriculture Commission unanimously approved a non-binding motion urging government intervention.

According to recent data from Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), the country’s olive-growing surface now exceeds 2.8 million hectares. Despite the rapid expansion of industrial farming systems, traditional groves are still estimated to account for roughly 70 percent of Spain’s total olive acreage, confirming their central role in the country’s agricultural landscape.

If the Government does not act now with specific aid, we are not just losing trees; we are signing the death warrant for thousands of hectares that will be abandoned, leaving our rural heartlands empty.– Javier Sanz Serna, Senator

Many of these groves are located on steep slopes exceeding 20 percent or in low-density plantations where full mechanization is technically or economically unfeasible. The sector is also highly fragmented and dominated by small family-owned farms across rural Spain.

The motion calls for stronger direct economic support, policies tailored specifically to traditional groves, recognition of their social and environmental value and measures aimed at curbing rural abandonment while improving the sector’s competitiveness.

The initiative follows months of mobilization by growers and sector organizations. José Gilabert, president of the San Vicente cooperative in Jaén and one of the promoters of the new Traditional Olive Grove Association, recently told Olive Oil Times that traditional producers are not seeking “confrontation” with industrial models but do not want intensive farming “to set our path and our prices.”

During the debate, lawmakers from the People’s Party (PP) and supporting groups highlighted what they described as a growing imbalance in the olive oil sector. While industrial plantations maximize efficiency through automation and mechanization, traditional groves remain one of the largest sources of employment in hundreds of rural municipalities.

“We cannot demand that a mountain olive grove, with its slopes and its history, compete under the same rules as a flat, industrial plantation,” Senator Javier Sanz Serna said during the commission debate. “If the Government does not act now with specific aid, we are not just losing trees; we are signing the death warrant for thousands of hectares that will be abandoned, leaving our rural heartlands empty.”

Sector representatives cited during the debate said traditional groves can generate up to four times more employment per hectare than super-intensive systems, particularly in mountainous or disadvantaged areas where mechanization is limited. In key producing provinces such as Jaén, the olive sector accounts for nearly 40 percent of all agricultural labor days, according to the same representatives.

Under normal production conditions, sector organizations estimate that costs in non-mechanizable mountain groves can be roughly double those of super-intensive plantations.

AEMO, the Association of Olive Municipalities, has repeatedly warned that traditional groves cannot compete economically with highly mechanized plantations unless public policies recognize their environmental and social value.

Cristóbal Cano, olive oil secretary of UPA, the Union of Small Farmers and Ranchers, welcomed the Senate initiative while warning that many traditional olive-growing areas face abandonment without stronger direct support. Cano has repeatedly argued that traditional groves sustain rural communities and help prevent erosion and wildfire risks in vulnerable Mediterranean areas.

Growers’ organizations have also argued that current Common Agricultural Policy structures and water allocation systems disproportionately favor large industrial farms over small and medium-sized traditional producers.

Supporters of the motion also emphasized that traditional groves play a key role in preventing soil erosion, preserving biodiversity and sustaining rural communities in Mediterranean regions increasingly exposed to desertification and wildfires.

The approved text also calls on the government to recognize these environmental and social benefits within future European Union Common Agricultural Policy frameworks, including through more targeted allocation of CAP funding.

Although the motion does not immediately change legislation, the unanimous vote reflects mounting pressure on Spanish policymakers to decide whether traditional olive groves should compete purely on industrial terms or be recognized for the broader environmental and social role they play in rural Spain.