Your Favorite Pizza and Salad Topping - Olives, Are Now Grown in Rajasthan

Olives are one of my favorite vegetable toppings on a pizza, pasta or salad. But I have never wondered where this simple yet complex tasting vegetable comes from!

Olives, like any other vegetable, come from farms. It originated in Africa but it is now grown in countries like Italy, Morocco, Egypt and now India as well.The largest supplier being the state of Rajasthan. Olive cultivation in India has been gaining popularity in recent years due to the crop's suitability for the country's climatic conditions.

Olive trees require a dry climate with low rainfall and mild winters, which makes them an ideal crop for the arid regions of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. The benefits of olive cultivation for farmers in India are many.

First and foremost, olive cultivation is a highly profitable venture. The fruit can be used to produce olive oil, which is a high-value product with a growing demand in the Indian market. This demand is due to the increasing awareness of the health benefits of olive oil, which is considered to be a healthier alternative to other cooking oils.

Olive farming in India

The National Horticulture Board has launched a scheme to promote the cultivation of olives in Rajasthan. Under this scheme, farmers are provided with financial assistance to establish olive orchards, and training and technical support are provided to help them learn the proper techniques for cultivation and harvesting.

The project on olive cultivation was started in the year 2006 and subsequently Rajasthan Olive Cultivation Limited was formed in 2007. There is about 800 hectares of region devoted for olive cultivation out of which 182 hectares is undertaken by ROCL on government farms in different agro-climatic regions namely Sri Gangapur, Nagpur, Bikaner, Jalore, Jhunjhunu, Alwar, Jaipur etc. These farms have hi-tech control for fertigation pH, EC roots, EC drippers through Agro-Agronam controllers.

These farmers practice machine based drip irrigation while everything else is manually executed. Through the guidance of Israel based scientists and researchers we have been successful in selecting & planting 7 leading varieties of olives i.e., Barnea, Arbequina, Cortina, Picholine, Picual, Korinoiki & Frontoy.

According to a news article, the trees started bearing flowers and fruits in 2012, a year or two after they should have done so. The total production was only 10 tonnes, however by 2014 the yield rose to 121 MT.

The Rajasthan government subsequently established a nursery at Bassi, Jaipur with a capacity to produce 1 million plants annually, and announced significant subsidies on olive saplings, fertilizers and drip irrigation systems to promote olive cultivation among farmers in the state.

Benefits of olives

Olive cultivation in India has the potential to benefit farmers economically and environmentally. With the government's support and initiatives to promote the crop, more farmers are likely to adopt olive cultivation as a profitable and sustainable alternative to traditional crops.

By doing so, they can contribute to the growth of the olive industry in India while also promoting environmental conservation.

The edible olive oil has been cultivated for at least 5000 to 6000 years ago and olives have been carrying these beneficial qualities ever since. Olives have been an essential part of the staple diet of Mediterranean people and have benefited them in many ways.

Olives also offer by-products like tea and wine which claim to have health benefits. They help in reducing the risk of coronary heart disease, the prevention of cancer and alternation of immune & inflammatory responses.

Apart from this there are many more benefits these small fruits bear in the large fields of Rajasthan.

Roshini Muthukumar

Roshini Muthukumar, a native of Chennai, started her career as a content writer but made a switch to journalism to pursue her passion. She has experience writing about human interest stories, innovative technology, entrepreneurs, research blogs, and more. Previously, Roshini has done internships with The Hindu, Metroplus and worked as a correspondent with The Better India.