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Secondly, quality, the result of the meticulous cultivation and production systems employed, together with an abundant selection of varieties with their own labelling to distinguish them and the presence of internationally recognised brand names. These brands market mildly fruity oils, endorsed by the guarantee conferred by the Regulatory Council of the certification "Denominación de Origen BAENA".

When considering the olive-grove and Baena, innovation is an additional theme that may be mentioned. Innovation may be seen both in the modernisation of the olive oil production processes, and in the uses to which the so-called by-products are put, the outstanding example being the 25 MW power station which is capable of providing for the energy needs of a town with a population of 50,000 when supplied with olive oil press waste.

Thus it has the means necessary to offer the sector opportunities to improve production and to market its products, be this through the provision of land for industrial use, the establishment of new companies or the encouragement of advertising activities, to name but a few recent initiatives.

With the humility of the tree that distinguishes us, accompanied by the pride of having made it a true symbol of our economy and of our culture, may we introduce Baena to you as the olive-grove and olive oil centre that it genuinely is. And invite you to come and see it for yourselves.

Just three words are enough to attest to the epithet above. And it has been made a slogan, used by Baena's council (the Ayuntamiento de Baena) and in other instances throughout the city, in order to draw attention to this municipality of Córdoba province's excellence regarding that which, without any doubt, distinguishes it - olive-groves and olive oil.

Conscious of the socio-economic importance of the olive-grove and oil within its territory, the Ayuntamiento de Baena, without forgetting the need to diversify the economy in order to provide for the well-being of its citizens in the future, sees making the olive industry the basis of one of its strategic pillars for municipal development as its priority.

The personal development of operatives and professionals working in the sector is another of the contributions that has been progressively consolidated. In recent years, the Ayuntamiento de Baena has taken steps to build up a collaborative relationship with the University of Córdoba in order to develop training programmes, and, has organised activities of social or cultural interest. These include holding the Baena Liquid Gold International Journalism Awards (Premio Periodístico Internacional Oro Virgen de Baena), together with the Olive-grove and Olive Oil Fair (Jornadas del Olivar y el Aceite), which have both been running for five years (1998-l 2002). Journalists like Tico Medina, Carlos Herrera and María Teresa Campos have received the prize in this time.

With the intention of consolidating this municipal commitment, and making it permanent, the BAENA OLIVE-GROVE AND OLIVE OIL MUSEUM (MUSEO DEL OLIVAR Y EL ACEITE DE BAENA) was inaugurated in April 2003. It is promoted by the Ayuntamiento as an exhibition space designed to facilitate contact between producers and between their products and the consumer, making them all attentive and responsive to each other. Or put differently, it is a place for leisure and cultural activities with the world of the olive as focus. To complement this indoor space, the Baena town plan also raises the idea of creating an outdoor area in the form of an Olive Theme-park.

Nor should the wider view be forgotten, which is to say that the olive and its oil can be a means to consolidate very important social and economic relations with countries of the Mediterranean basin and of Latin America. That's why special relationships have been established with municipalities and regions where the olive-grove is an ancient reality or where it is becoming one.

Firstly, the volume of production. Baena is perfectly equipped to guarantee the supply required by ever more global markets. A town in whose municipal area almost one hundred million kilos of olives were produced in the 2000-2001 crop, is, without doubt, to be found among the world's highest-ranking olive-producing areas.

These initiatives of social interest have a new exponent in the form of the Baena Association of Friends of the Olive (Cofradía de Amigos del Olivo de Baena), which promotes friendly relations between those involved in the olive industry. Among its honorary members are renowned figures from the political, cultural, gastronomic or scientific worlds.