The Cabildo has started this Monday the pressing of olives from Lanzarote to obtain virgin olive oil, in this new tool that will be located in the facilities of La Granja Agrícola Experimental. In this way, the olive growers of the island will be able to press and produce virgin olive oil in Lanzarote, "thus closing the cycle initiated by the Cabildo of Lanzarote to promote this crop through the El Olivar Ecológico project".
To date, after two years of implementation of the project and cultivation of olive trees on the island, local olive productions were sent, through the Insular Agrarian Service, to the olive mill of the Agricultural Farm of Pozo Negro, in Fuerteventura.
"From now on, producers will not have to send their olives to this olive mill in Fuerteventura, being able to carry out the entire process of producing virgin olive oil from Lanzarote on the island", said the Councilor for Agriculture, Livestock and Economic Promotion of the Cabildo, Francisco Fabelo, during the presentation and commissioning of this new facility that will be at the service of the primary sector.
This supply was acquired by the Cabildo of Lanzarote for an amount close to 83,000 euros, through competition and open procedure. Fabelo assured that, "in addition to meeting this need and demand of local producers", the Cabildo intends to promote "even more this new crop in the island's agriculture, with the aim of diversifying local quality productions, as products whose raw material and elaboration are 100 percent from Lanzarote".
About twenty farmers
Regarding the designation of origin of this product, the councilor pointed out that "this is a great step, but there is still a way to go to obtain this label since this will involve the organization of the producers themselves interested in promoting this quality mark". In view of the results and the quality obtained in these first tests, the councilor also hopes that "this product will be promoted by the restaurant sector, consumed by the resident and even be a product recognized and demanded by those who visit us".
The "El olivar ecológico" project has been running for two years, with the participation of about twenty farmers, spread throughout the island, occupying about five hectares. In total there are about 8,000 olive trees planted. Every 300 olive trees are estimated to produce an average of 1,500 kilograms of olives, which would process about 300 liters of virgin olive oil.
To these figures must be added the productions of other farmers who already had olive trees on the island and who, prior to the Cabildo's project, were already obtaining olives. This tree takes an average of three years to start giving this fruit to harvest.
