The actors of olive heritage in Portugal: Mapping and systematisation

Along with most Southern European and Mediterranean countries, olive oil and olive groves are an important economi, socio-cultural and environmental resource in Portugal. This study aims to characterise the current contexto in terms of the main indicators concerning olive groves, olive and oliveand olive oil production and processing and, in particular, the agents directly involved in this process. In particular, the six PDO regions in the country were studied, through the analysis of quantitative data, their evolution in the last years and their spatial representation. Complementary, information on the public and private agents in the touristic dynamisation of the olive and olive-oil heritage was systematised. The results point to a diversity of actors that are distributed across the rural territories of the three NUT II in study, with greater evidence of the NUT II North and Alentejo (in the south of the country) in terms of olive oil and olive producers and also at the level of tourist experiences in mills, tourist resorts, among others. The study contributes to a greater perception of the representativeness of the actors of olive and olive oil heritage in Portugal, the dynamics they generate today and the opportunities that can be developed in the future.