XIII Millenary Olive Trees Congress of the Sénia Territory ( 2/12/2025 )

Ulldecona celebrates World Olive Tree Day with a new edition of the annual millenary olive trees congress

Last Friday, November 28, Ulldecona hosted the 13th Millenary Olive Trees Congress of the Sénia Territory, an event once again held to commemorate World Olive Tree Day, highlighting this unique natural heritage of our region.

The event began with the institutional welcome by the Mayor of Ulldecona, Núria Ventura, who thanked all attendees for their presence and emphasised the importance of continuing to work towards preserving and promoting millenary olive trees.

Speeches followed by Evaristo Martí, Mayor of Rossell and acting President of the Mancomunitat Taula del Sénia, and Javier Ciprés, representative of the Teruel Provincial Council. Enric Adell, Vice President of the Tarragona Provincial Council, sent his apologies for being unable to attend.

The President of the Sénia Territory Association, Jaume Antich, presented an updated overview of the inventory of millenary olive trees and reviewed the evolution of the project from its beginnings to the present day, highlighting the progress made in protection, dissemination and public recognition.

The Manager of the Mancomunitat Taula del Sénia, Tere Adell, shared this year’s harvest data for the Farga Millenary Olive Oil Guarantee Trade Mark, comparing it with previous seasons and underlining the added value of this unique and exclusive product.

One of the most notable presentations was delivered by Antònia Ninot, researcher at IRTA, who spoke about olive tree biodiversity, showcasing the immense diversity of olive varieties worldwide and advances in olive genome research. Among the most striking findings, she highlighted the identification of a specimen that could be considered the closest “ancestor” of today’s farga olive trees.

Another key presentation was given by Jesús Miralles, manager of Sabor del Temps, titled “An Olive Against Cancer Within the Public Health System”. Miralles presented preliminary results from a research project led by a scientific team at Universitat Jaume I of Castelló (UJI), which has observed promising effects of olive extract in certain cancer treatments.

The practical portion of the congress was led by Àngels Calvo (Head of the Catalonia Olive Oil Tasting Panel), strong>Joan Baseda (Aragon Tasting Panel) and Eudald Salvat (Official Virgin Olive Oil Tasting Panel of Catalonia). Participants were able to sample oils made from the territory’s most characteristic olive varieties: sevillenca, morruda and farga.

The day concluded with the institutional celebration of World Olive Tree Day and a special recognition awarded by Joan Gòdia, Director General of Agri-food Enterprises of the Government of Catalonia, to individuals and entities committed to safeguarding millenary olive trees.

Overall, it was a highly enriching congress, with strong participation and high-level scientific and technical contributions, reaffirming this annual event as a key platform for promoting, preserving and showcasing the millenary olive heritage of the Sénia Territory.