“A collapse that could deal the final blow to a sector exhausted by the last two years, during which we have already recorded heavy shortages. But never like this.” This was declared by Sebastiano Di Prima, beekeeper and president of Coldiretti of Zafferana Etnea
The situation in Sicily remains dramatic due to the drought. Farmers are no longer able to guarantee the feeding of their cows and sheep, with empty feeders and drinkers. After the damage to the orange harvest, the drought is also devastating wheat, with drops of up to 70% in some areas. But not only that, honey production is also at risk, which could decrease by 95%.
Losses up to 95%
“Product losses of up to 95% are expected in many areas of the island: a collapse that could deal the final blow to a sector exhausted by the last two years, during which we have already recorded heavy shortages. But never like this.” This was declared by Sebastiano Di Prima, beekeeper and president of Coldiretti of Zafferana Etnea, as reported by the Giornale di Sicilia. “After a season that went very badly, between lack of rainfall and anomalous temperatures, with changes between hot and cold in the space of a few days: conditions that prevented the orange blossoms from developing enough nectar to feed our insects, exhausted by the long and vain search for food and the rapid fluctuations of the mercury column, sometimes to the point of dying. Not to mention the sulla, which in some areas has not even flowered, making it unnecessary to move the hives where the plant is most widespread, i.e. in the central part of the island”.
Dramatic situation
Hundreds of farms that are no longer able to feed their animals due to the lack of water and fodder burned by the drought, with the serious risk of seeing them die. The situation in the Sicilian countryside where the first load of the million and a half kilos of hay donated by Coldiretti, Italian Agricultural Consortiums, Bonifiche Ferraresi, the Italian Breeders’ Association and Fedama – Federation of National Associations is now dramatic – Coldiretti reports – di Razza to help the island’s stables, literally on their knees due to the drought. The fodder – underlines the agricultural organization – is transported and distributed to the companies most in difficulty but it is only a partial aid which alone will not be able to save cows and sheep that are now exhausted throughout the region, starting from the internal areas, now burnt with wheat fields and pastures completely dry due to the continuing lack of rain. “Coldiretti Sicilia is committed at this stage to also bringing water to the areas most in difficulty. Current estimates speak of a 70% drop in the harvest, but if the situation persists there is a real risk of a real zeroing out.” And breeders – the organization highlights – are forced to buy products outside the region at costs that are difficult to sustain, given the serious crisis. The concern now concerns all sectors of the Sicilian agri-food sector, the victim of years of inability to invest in an infrastructure system capable of not letting water waste and capable of guaranteeing companies’ survival.
