Il November 26, 2025 it is celebrated World Olive Day, an anniversary that goes far beyond the symbolic value of a thousand-year-old plant. Today, more than ever, the olive tree is an emblem of Italy’s national identity, landscape, agricultural culture, and pride in Made in Italy, but also a sentinel of a crucial challenge: safeguarding of Italian olive germplasm including tool for protecting biodiversity and quality.
Italy is one of the countries with the greatest varietal richness in the world, with over 700 native cultivarsA unique genetic heritage, the fruit of centuries of natural selection, peasant labor, and adaptation to the land. Defending this heritage means defending the very soul of Italian extra virgin olive oil, its profound, unique, and irreplaceable identity.
Olive germplasm: a living bank of our history
Safeguarding germplasm is not just a scientific issue: it is a cultural, ethical, and strategic act. Local varieties tell the story of the territories, of the farming families, of the rural economiesIn a context marked by climate change, plant diseases, and production standardization, preserving the genetic diversity of the olive tree means ensuring the resilience, quality, and future of the supply chain.
World Olive Day 2025 therefore becomes an opportunity to reiterate that oil is not a simple commodity, but a cultural, environmental and economic asset.
Alongside the protection of production, another central theme emerges forcefully: consumer awarenessIn an increasingly complex market, often confused by pricing logic and opaque communications, consumers are called upon to play an active role.
Choosing quality Italian extra virgin olive oil means:
• support agricultural businesses,
• defend the landscape,
• protect health,
• counteract the standardization of taste,
• protect knowledge that cannot be replicated elsewhere.
World Olive Day thus becomes a moment of food education, promoting the value of certifications, traceable supply chains, geographical designations, and excellent products.
A project to be taken as a model
The EVO.Ca. – Calabria Olive Oil Evolution project, promoted by Acli Terra, fits perfectly into this scenario. It represents a virtuous model of integration between:
• training,
• valorization of productions,
• innovation,
• social inclusion,
• development of rural areas.
EVO.Ca. is not just an agricultural project, but a cultural and generational path, which aims to bring olive growing back to the forefront as a driver of sustainable development, encouraging generational change, the dissemination of good agricultural practices, and building a new awareness among producers and consumers. In the context of World Olive Day 2025, EVO.Ca. is positioned as concrete example of how it is possible to combine tradition and the future, putting at the centre the human, social and economic value of the olive tree.
The Consortium for the Protection of Calabria PGI Olive Oil plays a crucial role in this process of protection and promotion, and is now a key player in promoting Calabrian olive oil on national and international markets.
The Consortium operates on multiple levels:
• defense of geographical origin,
• fight against counterfeiting,
• valorization of certified quality,
• promotion of the image of Calabrian oil as an authentic expression of the Mediterranean.
In a symbolic year like 2025, World Olive Day reinforces the message that Geographical Indications are not commercial labels, but tools for protecting the land, agricultural work and transparency towards the consumer.
The olive tree, a symbol of peace and collective responsibility
The olive tree has always been a symbol of peace, longevity, and rebirth, but today it is also a symbol of responsibility. Every production choice, every conscious purchase, every supply chain project contributes to shaping its future.
World Olive Day 2025 invites institutions, businesses, associations, and citizens to a shared commitment:
• to defend biodiversity,
• to support authentic Made in Italy,
• to promote quality oil,
• to make olive growing a barrier against the abandonment of inland areas.
Because caring for the olive tree means caring for Italy.
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Dining and Cooking