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Italy: the water crisis

24/07/2017

2017 Season
François-Xavier Branthôme
OI Pomodoro da Industria Nord Italia
Italy,
AMITOM
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Rabboni: "a fruitful meeting between representatives of the region and those of the tomato industry"
 
"Emilia-Romagna regional representatives have met with delegates from the processing tomato industry of northern Italy to discuss the water emergency situation and check that the measures decided in recent weeks are effective. This meeting helped to clarify some of the criticisms expressed by growers and processors, and demonstrated the need to implement medium-term structural measures in order to counteract or at least attenuate the consequences of the drought and of climate change. In this regard, the Pomodoro da Industria del Nord Italia IO has been invited to play an active role in serving as a link between production operators, regional authorities and local administrations in order to present projects. This proposal still needs to be approved by the IO's Coordination Committee, but there is no doubt that the IO will fulfill its commitments." 
These were the concluding words pronounced by Tiberio Rabboni, President of the Pomodoro Nord IO, during the meeting initiated by Regional Councilor for Agriculture Simona Caselli to evaluate the situation in the regions of Parma and Piacenza, which have been particularly badly hit by the drought.
 
"The data gathered by the ARPAE agency (Agenzia regionale per la Prevenzione, l´Ambiente e l´Energia) clearly shows the exceptional character of this prolonged drought, which started last October and has been aggravated by several heat waves that have intensified the phenomenon of evapotranspiration. […] Major efforts have been invested to obtain a state of emergency declaration (on 22 June), which has allowed an EUR 8.65 million budget to be made available for helping to meet water supply requirements in the provinces of Parma and Piacenza."
 

Several projects have been set up, in the context of the Rural Development Plan, with a budget of EUR 8 million that has been 60% co-financed in partnership with growers, in order to build water reservoirs intended for irrigation. Other projects will be considered in the context of a Technical Committee that is due to meet in September.