Italy: another year under the threat of drought?

 These are the conclusions of a report drawn up by the Coldiretti on the basis of data from the Institute of Atmospheric and Climate Sciences and the Italian National Research Council (CNR-ISAC), which also reports a serious situation in the South of the country, where a filling shortfall of 122 and 102 million cubic meters has been recorded for the Puglia and Basilicata reservoirs, respectively, compared to the same date last year. The situation is also tense in Calabria and Sicily.

According to the Italian press, farmers have already been forced to take emergency irrigation measures to save corn and beet crops, while other crops, including processing tomatoes, are under water stress. “If there is no major change in the near future, the water needed to grow crops will be lacking on many farms, with a risk to the country's food supply at a time of possible tension in the context of limited trade movements caused by the coronavirus crisis.”

Drought has become the most important adverse parameter for agriculture in recent years, with extreme episodes that have caused damage to Italian agricultural production, structures and infrastructures, for a total amount that can be estimated at more than EUR 14 billion over the last decade.
“Although Italy enjoys a relatively rainy climate, the infrastructure deficiencies are such that only 11% of rainfall is managed through the system of reservoirs, and a major shift-up is required in preventive measures” says Coldiretti national President Ettore Prandini.