Abandonment factors and alternatives in sloping olive growing: The case of Andalusia, Spain

The abandonment of agricultural activity has multiple negative economic, environmental and social impacts in rural areas. As a consequence of different socioeconomic, political, environmental and technical drivers, this phenomenon shows an increasing trend in olive groves in disadvantaged and sloping areas. This paper analyses, for the case of sloping olive groves in Andalusia, the main olive-growing region in the world, the explanatory factors (abandonment factors) and alternatives to this abandonment, such as organic and conventional olive growing, as well as the explanatory factors of the adoption (adoption factors) of the best of these alternatives.The aim is to provide insights for the development of public policies to avoid or mitigate the negative effects of abandonment and to promote the adoption of the best alternative to abandonment. The results indicate that, as an alternative to abandonment, organic farming is a better option than conventional farming, from an economic, environmental and agronomic point of view. The surface area of olive grove fields is the main structural variable to be increased in order to reduce the risk of abandonment and to promote conversion to organic farming. This can be done through land consolidation, tax exemption measures for the purchase/sale of olive groves and the promotion of cooperatives. It is also important to promote the professionalisation of the sector, following the philosophy of the active/genuine farmer of the CAP, and to develop awareness programmes for olive grove managers focusing not only on the economic advantages of organic farming but also on the generation of public goods. Knowledge transfer is needed through traditional sources such as agricultural associations, and through more institutional and less used sources of information such as universities, public research bodies and technology centres, because of their public service vocation.