June 5 – Italy and Morocco are entering a new partnership for the production of a superior quality olive oil in Beni Mellal. This is the focus of a conference scheduled for June 16 (at 7pm) at the Teatro Italia of the Consulate General of Italy in Casablanca. The debate will be centered on the oil produced today in Beni Mellal, a Moroccan city of 489,248 inhabitants, capital of the Tadla-Azilal region. During the conference – through images, words and flavors – the project “Olivo” will be presented. The project is realized by the Italian NGO Cefa with the financial support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Region of Emilia Romagna; it works on the development of the olive oil production chain in the region of Tadla-Azilal and particularly on the promotion of a local variety of olive tree: the Moroccan Picciolina. By training the actors in the supply chain and transferring Italian experience and know-how, it is thus possible to produce a superior quality oil, “Dir Beni Mellal”, which will soon become a PDO product. The presentation – organized by the Consulate General of Italy in Casablanca in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture in Rabat and by Cefa – will see the participation of Paola Chianca (Cefa representative in Morocco) and Gianpiero Carretta (Olivo project director).
