The activities of Zadar County on the project are related to the creation of prerequisites for the start of the production of planting material of autochthonous varieties of olives, i.e. for the cultivation of virus-free genotypes of rare, endangered autochthonous varieties. We embarked on the application of this project because of the detected problem, which is the availability of healthy planting material of rare autochthonous varieties, and therefore in their spread and acceptance by producers.
The long history of olive cultivation in the Zadar area has resulted in numerous olive varieties that have been supplemented and changed over time, which is not visible on the map of the indigenous assortment of the Republic of Croatia.
The leading varieties of oblica, drobnica and krvavica, among others, were complemented by other accompanying varieties that were primarily used as pollinators. Some of them were introduced from other olive-growing regions, but they also emerged through sprouting as wild olives. With the help of producers, these olive varieties spread in this area due to their economic value (regular yield, drought resistance and/or large fruit, etc.) and continued to propagate by grafting or some other vegetative propagation.
The olive variety is the basis for the production of authentic olive oils because it is the main factor that influences the composition and quality of the fruit, and thus the oil.
In addition to all of the above, from the point of view of biodiversity, local types and wild olives are an invaluable value and a source of genetic diversity. In order to acquire the prerequisites for the production of seedlings, evaluation and preservation of indigenous olive varieties, we decided to establish a plantation in which indigenous olive varieties of Zadar County will be collected (planted). In the plantation, their development and their suitability for oil production will be monitored, and the prerequisites for the production of planting material will also be created.
The specific objective of the project is to preserve the environment of Central Europe, while the general objective of the project is to develop a biodiversity protection plan in order to achieve collective awareness of communities that manage biodiversity.
The project started on June 1, 2024, the planned duration of the project is 30 months, and 12 project partners from 8 countries are participating in the project: Italy, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Austria. In addition to Zadar County, another partner from Croatia is the Public Institution Kamenjak from Istria.
The total project budget is EUR 2,353,468.34, of which 80%, or EUR 1,882,774.67, was co-financed by ERDF funds.
The budget of the Zadar County is EUR 179,890.00, of which EUR 143,912.00 is co-financed by the ERDF and EUR 35,978.00 by the Zadar County.