Below is the note from the Italian Farmers’ Confederation – Southern Calabria Province, in relation to the water shortage in Reggio Calabria.
“The agricultural sector of the territories of Reggio Calabria and Vibo Valentia is going through a complicated period, due to the rainfall trends of the last few months which show a worrying trend, which highlights unprecedented water stress in the territory.
Calabria, together with Basilicata, Sicily and Puglia, occupies the first place in the ranking of regions subject to a high rate of water stress, analyzing the relationship between total water withdrawals and the availability of surface and underground water.
Water sources are down 50% and reservoirs are few and obsolete. Over the years, there has been a lack of attention to their maintenance as well as to the design of new reservoirs and dams for collecting water for agriculture”.
Cia Calabria Sud continues.
“The effects of climate change are putting the primary production sector to the test, in particular the Ionian coast of Reggio Calabria appears to be the one in greatest difficulty. The vine cultivations of Bivongi, Palizzi, Pellaro, and the bergamot production have had a significant collapse compared to previous years, endangering the economic and social stability of the production fabric and the companies themselves.
Olive oil and horticultural production have decreased across the board both on the Ionian and Tyrrhenian belts of Reggino and on the territories of the Vibonese area.
Of note, in the territories of the province of Vibo Valentia is the sharp decrease in the yields of fodder crops, the main source of sustenance for farm animals, resulting in a reduction in the high quality dairy production typical of Monto Poro.
The trend, analyzing the scientific data, appears to be constantly and continuously worsening. Precipitation decreases significantly and extreme events increase exponentially. Calabria is rich in water resourcesbut we waste a lot of it, we don’t manage it rationally”.
Cia Calabria’s requests
Concrete actions are needed to address a problem that has now become structural for our territory:
– A plan to store water and use it when needed, also through the construction of small reservoirs with low environmental impact.
– The recycling of waste water where possible through purification plants that treat the water for use in agriculture and in the management of urban greenery.
– The use of technology applied to the primary sector for water saving and intelligent use of the same.
– The census of all sources and reservoirs present in the territory that can be used in agriculture.
Cia Calabria Sud, after having heard the cry for help from the agricultural producers of Southern Calabria, asks that the state of natural disaster be activated as has already been done by the Sicily Region with numbers similar to ours, where the state of disaster has already been declared as has already been done by the National Government, so that companies can have immediate relief, which is not an end in itself but gives the go-ahead to a new and careful planning and management of Calabrian water resources”.
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