OLIVE OILS AND HEALTH 94 The strategies referred to above thus permit the establishment of olive oil territorial “agri-food value networks”. They are characterised more as territories than productive systems, increasing the link between olive grove and land and highlighting its importance for the rural areas involved. The Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) is another tool for connecting territory and olive oil. According to the latest report from the “Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food” (2018), the 28 Spanish PODs are distributed around 710109 hectares, grouping 375 oil presses and 378 packers and marketers. All together producing 214904 tonnes of extra virgin olive oil, of which 78168 are certified. Moreover, it should be noted that innovation regarding olive oil production is also linked to strategic alliances with Universities and Research Centres. Such cooperation improves research on quality, health, environmental respect, and the three pillars of sustainability: economics, society, and environment. Progress has been made regarding the efficacy and sustainability of irrigation water and energy by using predictive systems and renewable energy. For instance, water management through Artificial Intelligence and Big Data; and plague control with digital tools and multi-spectra/thermographic sensors installed in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Innovations in the olive oil extraction process and its quality control have also been achieved by employing NIRS sensors. In addition, digital tools aid olive grove mechanization in harvesting, and smart technologies can be used for phytosanitary application, decision-making support systems, and equipment control. 6.4. Conclusion The olive oil sector is of great value with respect to distribution and transformation processes, and has social, economic, environmental, territorial, and health implications. Nevertheless, the sector is currently experiencing severe difficulty in ensuring its medium- and long-term sustainability. The limited size of the cultivars, lack of a strong sector backbone, price volatility (particularly at origin), and economic displacement throughout the agri-food value network are all responsible for the problems the industry is undergoing. Solutions include augmenting quality, professionality, and internationalization; implementing a circular economy; raising efficiency in the use of resources; and digitally transforming both the olive sector and olive oil production. The increasing demand of olive oil related products, driven by the consumer’ s awareness of the relationship between olive oil and health, has, however, promoted an interesting diversification process where new actors are generating novel value chains.
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