Producers live with the fear of olive theft, following the recent incident when 37 tons of olive oil from the Agricultural Olive Oil Cooperative in Polygyros were stolen. The damage is estimated at 370,000 euros.
Meanwhile, the oil is sold at over 8 euros/liter in most areas. In the search for effective ways to protect the crop, various proposals were put on the table.
One thought of the producers of Crete was the hiring of security guards in the fields. “In Crete the producers themselves have already started to patrol their olive trees,” according to the vice-president of the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Heraklion, (EASI), Myron Chiletzakis.
The other method being discussed is more scientific: Placing GPS trackers in the trees, as he mentioned. The chips are olive-shaped, so as not to be detected.
“From the moment they are activated they leave their mark on the producer’s mobile phone. Thus, the producer can then find the thief where he has gone or even prevent the illegal harvesting of the olive which is done at his own expense,” said the vice-president of the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Heraklion.
These devices were first used in Spain in 2019 when the production in the country had reached two million tons and the producers placed on their trees a GPS olive dummy that gave the mark and sounded the alarm when it moved. At that time in Spain these devices were subsidized by the state, Chiletzakis added.
