Farmers in Minas, Brazil, Have Big Plan for Olive Oil Production

A group of eight producers who own properties in the municipality of Baependi, in the south of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, after three years of investing on olive farming, is harvesting the second crop of the fruit of the olive tree.

The output should reach 50 kilograms of olives, a result considered surprising by technicians of the Agricultural Research Corporation of the State of Minas Gerais (Epamig), which has been doing research on the culture for decades in the state, because the olive trees are still young and the culture only reaches commercial maturity at seven years of age. The harvest will end on April.

In addition to the farmers from Baependi, six other ones in the region have also joined the project. According to information supplied by the Epamig, there are now over 5,000 olive trees planted, in an area of approximately 20 hectares. Last year, farmers from Baependi and vicinities managed to harvest 20 kilograms of olives.

Because the area is environmentally protected, the farmers opted for organic farming, and use by-products of cattle breeding such as seasoned manure and cow urine as fertilizers and pesticides.

The group of farmers estimates that within five years they will already be producing a sufficient amount of olives to make olive oil and sell the product on the domestic market.

Anba