Twenty-five thousand hectares of olive groves located on the slopes of the Italian Apennine Mountains could be restored to production in a matter of years, reversing a long-running trend of abandonment. According to the Italian National Olive Tree and Olive Oil Academy, restoring 5,000 hectares of olive orchards in a mountainous region such as Abruzzo could foster a 40 percent increase in regional annual olive oil production.

The relatively low mountain range, which spans more than 1,200 kilometers, is home to 207,000 hectares of olive groves. They represent approximately 21 percent of Italy’s olive cultivation surface area. During a recent national meeting in Casoli, Abruzzo, hundreds of experts, researchers, professors, agronomists, economists, entrepreneurs and public officials focused on reviving the Apennine olive growing tradition.