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<pre>Here is an article I wrote a couple of years ago about Olives in Jordan.
Happy Holidays
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27 November 1997

"Art of olive picking: Great process for producing healthy society and
economy"

By Elise Y. Sadoun
Special to The Star

IRBID-At the height of the olive season, olive farmers and processors are
now working at full capacity. With an increase in Jordanian olive oil
consumption by approximately 50 percent between 1983 and 1994, the olive
season has increasingly provided a good income for all involved.

Each Jordanian consumes an average of between 3-4 kilograms of olive oil per
year; total consumption of table olives in 1995 reached over 12,000 tons.
Olive oil is known to be high in monounsaturated fats, which lowers LDL (or
"bad") cholesterol without lowering HDL (or "good") cholesterol." With this
knowledge about the health benefits of olive oil over other oils, more and
more people are starting to use olive oil exclusively.

Olive trees are planted when they are a year-old saplings, and take
approximately 5 to 15 years to bear fruit. One farmer referred to the olive
as "the lazy farmer's crop," as little maintenance is required for the
trees. They must be fertilized every 2 to 3 years, tilled twice a year,
treated with insecticide every 4 years, pruned every year to remove dead and
diseased branches, and irrigated 2-4 times a year. Irrigation of 2 cubic
meters of water per tree takes place before flowering, after the emergence
of the fruit, in August, and during very hot weather. However,
over-irrigation may be detrimental to the trees. Some farmers can get away
with no tilling at all. Also over pruning may tire the tree, preventing it
from producing fruit for a year or two.

Olives are harvested when they start to turn black. The picking is either
done by the tree owners themselves, or by hired workers. In some countries,
the trees are shaken by machines, but this is rarely if ever done in Jordan
because it damages the trees. The trees limbs are shaken, then hand picked.
The olives are picked up off the ground spread around the tree, and packed
into burlap bags for transport to the olive processing plant.

Each farmer's olives are processed separately, so he receives the oil from
his own olives. The processing is made either by a traditional press system,
in which the olives are stone ground and then pressed between stone or metal
slabs, allowing the oil to seep out, or using the modern method: olives are
first washed and rinsed, crushed, mixed with water for a fixed amount of
time to allow the oil to be released from the mixture, and then fed through
a decanter which separates the mixture into oil, water, and pomace. Then the
oil is pumped into a centrifuge/decanter, where it separates again into
purified oil and waste water. The oil is then poured into metal containers
or plastic jugs. The oil further separates during storage leaving purified
oil with a bottom layer of inedible vegetable-matter sludge which is
discarded as the container is emptied.

Modern processing machines have the capacity to process 1-5 tons of olives
per hour, and they run 24-hours per day during the busiest time of the
season. The olives contain between 12 percent to 35 percent of oil by
volume, and the yield is more or less the same using either the traditional
presses or the modern machines. The modern method has the advantage of lower
labor costs, and faster processing and thus reduce olive damage and poorer
quality oil due to long storage time.

Olive processing yields by-products of vegetable water and pomace. The
vegetable water is stored in tanks, then pumped to a reservoir where it
evaporates. The olive pomace, which is high in organic matter and
soil-enriching nutrients, is either sold by the ton for use as fertilizer or
processed into high-energy charcoal.

The economic benefits of olive production in Jordan are widespread. The
olive tree will produce olives year after year for hundreds, possibly
thousands of years. Therefore the initial investment by the farmer in
saplings and land will bring a high return for him and his progeny. The
olive pickers also make a good amount of money. Each man makes JD 3.50 per
day, while each woman makes JD 3 per day. Some pickers forgo the daily wage
for up to 25 percent of the olives they pick. The olive processing plants
take 9 percent of the farmers total oil as payment for processing, then
sells the surplus. The plant also sells the olive pomace. Young men also
take advantage of the olive season by riding around in donkey-drawn carts,
selling drinks and snacks to the field workers and farmers waiting their
turn for their olives to be processed.

This year's olive yield is less than average, only about 50 percent of a
normal crop. However, the price of the oil remains about the same as last
year, about JD 50-60 for each 16 kilogram container of oil. Different
variables affect the price of oil. Some regions produce a higher quality
oil, therefore the price is higher. Oil quality depends on tree variety,
soil and climate conditions, conditions of the olives when picked, and the
amount of time the olives are stored before processing.

The olive season has a great impact on the family life of all those
involved. Families get together over a weekend to pick the olives off their
own trees. Processing plants are usually a family operation, which all
family members pitching in to help. Sons and cousins work side by side or in
rotating shifts, sometimes covering more than one location. Families also
hire themselves out to pick olives. The adult men and women work side by
side in the field. Even the kids help out after school and on weekends by
climbing up the tree to shake the branches and pick olives off the highest
limbs.

The head of one olive picking family, Mr Abu Ja'ffr Kinani of Samar, says
that the whole family enjoys the olive season. They go to the field at 6:30
am eat their breakfast, and then start work at 7. they take a half-hour
break for a quick lunch and coffee or tea, then continue working until 3:30
pm. He says, "the olive season has a very positive effect on our family. We
all work together and everyone benefits from the harvest. We are happy,
telling stories and jokes while we work, so the time flies. We are given
some of the olives and oil for our family, in addition to the daily wage. We
also get to meet new people and see old friends."

Mr Kinani said that his family of 12 uses 8 containers of oil, and 35
kilograms of olives in one year. They use only olive oil, and they have been
picking olives for the past nine years, since he retired from the army.

More and more people are planting olive trees. The trees benefit the
environment by preventing soil erosion, and by requiring fewer chemical
treatments than other fruit trees. Olive farming also benefits the local and
national economy.
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