2020 : Year of Olive Tree for “Keys My Crops”

2020 : Year of Olive Tree for “Keys My Crops”

The olive (Olea europaea) is an evergreen tree indigenous to the Mediterranean Basin from the Middle East to Portugal.

The olive tree was originally planted seven thousand years ago in Mediterranean countries. The olive tree has coexisted with people for approximately five thousand years.

Although it is one of the oldest and most widespread plants on Earth, it is hard to pinpoint its origin as a cultivated plant accurately. It is considered to have first been planted in ancient times by indigenous Middle Eastern people. Probably indigenous to Syria, between 4000 and 1400 BC, it spread to Egypt, Crete, and Attica and thence to the rest of the Mediterranean basin with the help of the Greeks, Phoenicians, and Carthaginians, where its cultivation was favored by particularly suitable climate and soils.

The value of the olive tree was so high for the Mediterranean civilization that the ancient Greeks considered the tree as sacred. For that reason in the ancient Olympic games an olive tree wreath, called “kotinos”, was the official award for the Olympic champions. Olive wreath was the emblem of the modern Olympic games in Athens back to 2004, as well.

For “Keys My Crops” 2020 is dedicated to olive tree and olive oil. That’s why Mr. Thomas H. Ahrens and Mr. Panos Chamakiotis, CEO and RD of COMPO EXPERT Group accordingly payed a visit to ancient Olympia in Greece. To experience firsthand the importance of the olive tree!

Olympia (Greek: Ὀλυμπία) is a small town in Elis on the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, famous for the nearby archaeological site of the same name, which was a major Panhellenic religious sanctuary of ancient Greece, where the ancient Olympic Games were held.

Nowadays the importance of the Olive tree, olives and olive oil remain the same for the Mediterranean countries. Actually the olive oil is one of the pillars of the Mediterranean diet.

COMPO EXPERT has shown big interest in helping the growers and the Agritechnicians all over the Med countries ( Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal) with a wide range of specialty products

COMPO EXPERT has shown big interest in helping the growers and the Agritechnicians all over the Med countries ( Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal) with a wide range of specialty products