In Portugal, the olive orchard is the most representative agricultural crop and one of
the most impactful on the national economy. Therefore, a production structure accompanying the
technological advances in this field would be expected; however, such a structure has not yet been
realized, especially within traditional systems. Thus, taking northeastern Portugal as a case study,
where a great expression of traditional orchards is visible, the following aspects are addressed
within this paper: the region’s biophysical framework, the olive orchard’s environmental and socio-
economic importance and its current management practices and associated pressures. As a result
of that assessment, which demonstrates a low level of sustainability for traditional olive orchards,
mainly in terms of economic viability, the most effective and simple solution is to act appropriately
on factors that interfere with the crop yield, namely, irrigation and fertilization issues. With that
purpose, a multiscale precision oliviculture system is also presented that is being developed in order
to support decision making in traditional olive orchard management, aiming to obtain economically
efficient productions based on eco-friendly cultural practices. Throughout the entire process, it is
essential to ensure stakeholder engagement, in particular, olive growers, so that they recognize the
effectiveness of potential measures that may avoid the reconversion/abandonment of the traditional
olive production system.
