From Louisiana to Madrid: training course at the IOC

Madrid – Some twenty agricultural experts from Louisiana, enrolled in the Louisiana State University Agricultural Leadership Development Program, visited the headquarters of the IOC in Madrid, and were received on behalf of the Executive Director Abdellatif Ghedira by the Deputy Executive Director Mustafa Sepetçi. The Agricultural Leadership Development Program is a two-year programme to train leaders in Louisiana’s agricultural sector. The programme offers a calendar of meetings and seminars to provide a better understanding of the agricultural sector and build up an international network. At the IOC, the group learned more about the International Agreement on Olive Oil and Table Olives, 2015; the trade standard; olive oil chemistry and technology; and the promotion of the IOC international standards, giving particular attention to the activities surrounding the new observatory that the IOC has started to create in 2018.  The IOC seminar also provided further information about the current olive oil and table olive crop year and it reinforced the message of the new IOC promotion campaign in the United States: OLIVE OIL PROMISE, which is focused on making US institutions and consumers aware of the importance of adopting the standards agreed upon by the olive sector. The LSU group was led by the course director, Bobby Soileau, who thanked the IOC for its hospitality. Following this visit, the group is continuing its tour in Portugal.