IBERIAN FACTS

• In Ancient Greece, a person could be fined for digging up too many olive trees, even on their own land
• The average age of an olive tree is between 300 and 600 years old
• The oldest certified olive tree is more than 2000 years old in Vouves Crete in Greece, dating all the way back to Roman times. It still produces olives today! 

Extraordinary and rapid developments in science and technology are shaping how we produce food for a growing population in the face of a changing climate. In Europe, one of the leading institutions in this eld is the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The council partnered with Land Life Company in 2015 to further its research initiatives.

CSIC plays an important role in shaping scientific and technological policy in Spain with a specific focus on sustainable innovations in agriculture. Land Life, in partnership with CSIC, planted a selection of productive trees, including olives and almond as well as a smaller number of walnut and pistachio trees, to test species performance without ongoing irrigation. Preliminary results after the first extremely dry and hot Madrid summer were positive. Focusing on olives and almonds, survival rates after five months are above 90%, which is a promising sign for more water-efficient agriculture in the future.