Focus group on the future of protection strategies for olive crop - Focus group on the future of protection strategies for olive crop - Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops

On November 4^th 2025, a Focus Group meeting was held at the Research Center for Olive, Fruit, and Citrus Crops in Acireale to define future olive crop protection strategies that reflect a realistic and optimized Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy that can be implemented over the next five years. The Focus Group was organized as part of the European SUPPORT project, funded by the Horizon Europe research and innovation program. The project comprises a research consortium of 20 organizations from 10 different countries, in which the Research Center for Olive, Fruit, and Citrus Crops (OFA) and the Research Center for Agricultural Policies and Bioeconomy (CREA-PB) are partners. The overall objective of the project is to promote the adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) through the co-creation of effective and sustainable crop protection strategies. The specific objective of the Focus Group was to co-create a future olive tree protection scenario by integrating new, evidence-based, IPM tools and measures currently under development and/or expected to become available in the next five years. The Focus Group included external experts with extensive expertise and experience in olive tree protection at the national level, as well as researchers from the CREA-OFA and CREA-PB research centers involved in the project. The Focus Group's findings helped to outline innovative strategies for sustainable olive tree protection and provide useful recommendations for future policies, which, through the SUPPORT project, will be transferred to policymakers at the national and European levels.

Further information on the SUPPORT project outputs and deliverables can be found here: https://he-support.eu/