With remarkable participation and outstanding presentations, the Final Event of the “Open Olive Oil Academy” program was held on Friday, October 10, 2025, at the facilities of the Agricultural Cooperative “Union of Messinia” in Kalamata.
The event marked the successful completion of the program, which aimed to help olive growers in Messinia adopt modern olive-growing practices to improve their production processes and enhance their competitiveness and extroversion.
The program was implemented by the organization New Agriculture New Generation, through the founding donation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and funding from the Captain Vassilis and Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation, with the support of Bayer, BASF, and PJ Condelis SA, in collaboration with the Union of Messinia. The program was also held under the auspices of the Region of Peloponnese.
The event was opened with a greeting by Ms. Effie Lazaridou, CEO of New Agriculture New Generation, followed by Mr. Konstantinos Tsoronis, Head of Agri-Food Actions at the Captain Vassilis and Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation.
Greetings were also delivered by Mr. Giannis Pazios, Director of the Union of Messinia; Mr. Periklis Mantas, Member of Parliament for Messinia (New Democracy); Mr. Stathis Anastasopoulos, Deputy Regional Governor of Messinia; Mr. Vasilis Koutrafouris, Deputy Mayor of Kalamata; and Mr. Vangelis Xygoros, President of the Messinia Chamber of Commerce.
Two panel discussions followed, focusing on key issues of high importance for the olive sector, with the participation of distinguished scientists, institutional representatives, and industry professionals.
The first panel, titled “Addressing Contaminants in Olive Cultivation,” was moderated by Dr. Dimitris Voloudakis, General Director of Programs at New Agriculture New Generation. Speakers included Dr. Nikoleta-Kleio Denaxa, Assistant Professor of Arboriculture and Olive Cultivation at the Agricultural University of Athens; Dr. Konstantinos Dimopoulos, Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry and Food Chemistry at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and member of the Scientific Committee 4E; and Mr. Ioannis Iliadis, President of the Panmessinian Association of Olive Mill Owners. A special intervention was made by Mr. Giorgos Mitrakos, General Director of SEVITEL (Association of Greek Olive Oil Standardization Industries).
The second panel, titled “Challenges & Opportunities in the Olive Sector,” was moderated by journalist Mr. Themis Kanellopoulos (BEST TV). Speakers included Mr. Thanasis Langouranis, Agronomist, MSc, Head of the Monitoring Unit for Pillar I Interventions at the Special Service for the Implementation of Direct Support and Sectoral Interventions, Ministry of Rural Development and Food; Mr. Kostas Peimanidis, Director of Business Development at AGROVIM S.A. and member of the North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA); and Mr. Giorgos Katsoulis, President of the Association of Agricultural and Cooperative Organizations and Enterprises of Greece (SASOEE).
This was followed by a presentation by Ms. Efstathia Georgakopoulou, Head of the Directorate of Agricultural Economy & Veterinary Services of the Regional Unit of Messinia, on the Olive Register and its potential for recording and rationally managing the olive sector.
The event concluded with the presentation of the program’s outcomes and key findings, confirming the significant contribution of the “Open Olive Oil Academy” to strengthening producers and promoting knowledge and innovation in Messinia.
Throughout the program, participants completed 54 hours of training, through six two-day in-person classes held in Kalamata.
The first training cycle (June 20 – July 5, 2025) focused on issues of olive grove establishment and management, olive tree physiology, cultivation practices, and plant protection in relation to climate change. The second cycle (September 5 – October 11, 2025) covered topics such as economic concepts, soil management, quality certifications, olive oil processing, as well as olive tourism and olive oil tasting.
In parallel, a webinar was held on the topic “Access to the U.S. Market: What the Consumer Looks For,” presented by Dr. Tasos Kyriakides, Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Public Health and researcher at the Yale Center for Analytical Sciences (YCAS).
Through the program, olive growers in Messinia gained valuable knowledge about modern olive cultivation and strengthened their ability to improve the efficiency of their olive groves and the quality of their products.
In her statement, Ms. Effie Lazaridou noted:
“The Open Olive Oil Academy emerged as an idea a few years ago when we realized that, as an organization supporting the agri-food sector for over seven years, we had to do something specifically for olive growing — a highly dynamic field with a millennia-old tradition in Greece, which perhaps today faces more challenges than we would like to admit. Climate change, intense competition, the evolving production and trade landscape, and perhaps a small delay in adopting new practices and technologies — all bring us to the point where we must claim even more dynamically the position our symbolic product deserves in global markets.”
The “Open Olive Oil Academy” by New Agriculture New Generation addresses a crucial sector of Greek agriculture and significantly contributes to improving its productivity and competitiveness. This was the second successful edition of the program, following its earlier implementation in North Kynouria.
The organization aims to continue the program in other regions of Greece in the future.
