Four types of agriculture with predominant olive growing in Southern Spain — A case study

Abstract

Olive trees are grown in 34 out of 48 Spanish provinces. There are remarkable regional variations. Four regional types of olive growing may be identified and correlated with economic and social structure. The first region comprises parts of the Andalusian provinces of Jaén and Córdoba with around 80 % of the arable land in olive trees. The problems associated with this olive monoculture are discussed in detail. The second region is made up of a number of municipalities around the city of Seville, growing table olives to a considerable extent. Table olives require higher inputs while yielding around fourfold. The third region encompassing portions of the central provinces of Ciudad Real, Toledo, and Badajoz shows the advantages and disadvantages associated with the intercropping of olive trees with grapes or grain and fodder crops. The fourth region comprises the interior of the Catalan and Levante provinces with marginal conditions for the olive tree and many agro-technical adjustments such as water conservation methods, ground water irrigation, and terracing. The paper is supposed to contribute to the discussion on agricultural typology.