Intercrop orchard
In this area of about 2 ha, we find an already established olive grove, conducted according to a traditional compass of 10 meters, a typical rural landscape in Portugal.
At Food4Sustainability CoLAB we seek to make production more profitable and dynamic, giving new life to this traditional landscape. By introducing other cultural varieties and different harvesting times, we managed to increase the efficiency of land use.
Instead of having soil exposed to the elements between the trees, and going beyond the permanent pastures and meadows, we transform the landscape into an orchard with more fruit trees and with horticultural production between the lines, making the space profitable and increasing productivity with a model associated with self-subsistence agriculture.
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FUN FACTS
Did you know that this method also allows you to increase animal biodiversity and thereby help in pest and disease control?
Did you know that since the olive harvest occurs between September and December and the harvest of the selected vegetables and fruit trees occurs in the remaining months, we can produce all year round?
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