Multifunctional Olive Systems: sustainable agroforestry in the Mediterranean

Multifunctional olive systems integrate olive cultivation with crops, livestock, and trees to enhance sustainability, combat soil erosion and water scarcity, and improve farm resilience across the Mediterranean. These systems boost biodiversity, soil fertility, and economic returns through practices like silvopastoral grazing, intercropping with cereals and legumes, and polycultures with wild asparagus and free-range chickens. Innovations such as green mulching and nitrogen-fixing crops reduce reliance on synthetic inputs. The LIVINGAGRO project supports knowledge transfer and adoption of these agroforestry models to strengthen rural economies and climate adaptation in olive-producing regions.