Drought In Northern Italy: paddy fields in Novara

Fabrizio Rizzotti, rice producer for six generations and Coldiretti representative, controls the fields suffering from lack of water. Rice needs a lot of water for its life cycle and the area between Novara and Pavia is in serious shortage. Fabrizio estimates that about 50% of the harvest is compromised at a stage in which the costs are practically all already borne and this could put several producers in difficulty. The very hot days and the lack of rainfall are creating increasing difficulties for farmers and ranchers. The lack of water in the Po river basin was not found mitigated by the weak spring rains. After a consistent period of drought, the Po river and its basin have a water flow rate of less than half the normal. Long-term forecasts do not indicate that in the short term the weather will change with persistent precipitation. Drought is not an unusual phenomenon, but the frequency with which it recurs in recent years is also becoming worrying of the impacts it has on animals, flora, and agricultural activities.