Outside the village of Zeme in northern Italy, Dario Vicini grows rice, the pride of the Pavia region. Half of all rice eaten in Europe is produced in this area. Usually the rice plants soar high above the fertile soil. Earlier this month, Dario had to use his motorbike to get an overview of how much of the crop had been destroyed. – Here the rice plants tend to be as tall as this, says Vicini, holding his hand at hip height. He bends down and pulls up something that looks more like a dried tuft of grass. – Now it is completely dead. Not in 70 years has a drought lasted as long as this summer. At this time of year, Vicini would be wading with rubber boots on here in the field. Now it’s sneakers and dust. True, there are green shoots on the small plants that stand in long rows on the bone-dry soil. A couple of days of torrential rain at the end of August show that there is still life in the field. But for this year’s harvest, it is far too late. – It doesn’t help anything. Here all is lost. 90 percent of my rice production this year has been destroyed, says the farmer. DRY RICE: Crisp dry rice fields outside Zeme in the Pavia region. Could have trouble surviving Stefano Greppi is head of the local branch of Coldiretti, the cooperative that organizes agricultural workers in Italy. He is with news out on the rice fields and says that some have done better than Vicini this year, but that the producers in the area have on average lost half of their rice due to the drought. – It has been a completely exceptional summer, I have never seen anything like it in my lifetime. Too little snowmelt this spring, no rain this summer, he says. – We are in the heart of the rice triangle in Italy. The drought has hit hardest here in the Pavia region. The damage to us is enormous, because agriculture is clearly the most important part of the economy here in the province, says Greppi. For the rice growers, the drought added to major challenges with a sharp increase in the price of fertilizer and fuel. CONCERNED: Stefano Greppi fears what will happen if this becomes the new normal. – Those who have invested and are in debt can have major problems surviving. – What will happen to the production here, if it gets just as hot in the years to come? – We will have to reduce the areas used for rice cultivation in any case, because we do not have sufficient water to maintain production everywhere. We may be able to experiment with new types of rice that can withstand the drought better. – Are you worried about the future? – Yes. We are not used to this. We are proud of what we do, of the rice fields. When they are deserted, discouragement follows, says Greppi. Selling rice to China The rice produced here in the area are varieties for risotto, the region’s culinary pride. But a wide variety of other types of rice are also grown, which are used for everything from sushi to breakfast cereals. The Northern Italian rice is exported over large parts of the world – even to China, says the Coldiretti manager. Rice has been grown in this area since the 15th century. Dario Vicini wonders how long it will be possible to continue, if this year’s summer is any indication of how the new normal will be going forward. – We may have to try to come up with something else. But I have never grown anything but rice. DRY: The amount of water in the Po River in Italy is drastically less than normal. Photo: PIERO CRUCIATTI / AFP Probably the worst drought in 500 years The absence of rain and high temperatures have led to drought in several places in the world. Even if this summer’s drought has not been fully analyzed (because it is still ongoing), it could be the worst in 500 years, says researcher Andrea Toretti at the European Commission’s Research Center (EC-JRC) to the AP news agency. – The drought in 2018 was so extreme that when we look back 500 years in time, we cannot see anything similar. I think this year’s drought is more extreme than the one in 2018. The water level in several of the large pupils in Europe has dropped sharply. The amount of water in the Po River in Italy is drastically less than normal. Also the Rhine and rivers in France, Spain and Portugal now carry little water. – Our analysis shows extremely low water levels in almost all European rivers, says Toretti. As of 10 August, a drought warning had been issued for 47 percent of the territory in Europe, according to a report from the EC-JRC. Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain are among the countries where the situation has gradually worsened.
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The drought in Italy has destroyed Dario’s rice production – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
