The production of citrus fruits (99% of cultivated areas), olive oil (81%) e durum wheat (73%) for “made in Italy” pasta and bread will be at risk for the next season due to drought. These are productions linked above all to the southern regions which, already affected by drought, are the most at risk. The increase of temperatures and the water scarcity they jeopardize the productivity of these crops, on land that has often already been depleted for years intensive agriculture. The adoption of agroecological techniques, on the contrary, protects the health of the soil and its ability to retain moisture, maintaining the productive capacity of agricultural land in the long term and, with it, the income of farmers increasingly threatened by climate change and extreme events. It’s the alarm GreenPeace Italy.
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Use less water
“The climate trends indicate to us that the soils of the Southern regions will be increasingly difficult to cultivate and that they cannot be compensated by the soils of Northern Italy, already intensively exploited, threatened by rapidly rising average temperatures and increasingly frequent extreme climatic events”, comment Simona Savini, of the Greenpeace Italia Agriculture Campaign. “This is why it is urgent and necessary to adapt our agri-food model to productions that require it less waterstarting from the reduction of land used for animal feed”.
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What to do to save citrus fruits, oil and wheat from drought
The fight against desertification it is a global challenge that requires a concrete commitment from everyone according to GreenPeace Italia. Today it is more necessary than ever to reduce water consumption in agriculture and favor the production of food for people than that of animal feed, promote agroecological techniques that improve soil health, update the Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate with objectives in line with the Paris Agreement to reduce climate-changing emissions and combat pollution that poisons water resources. Italy must change the paradigm of the agri-food model as soon as possible, with a focus on sustainability and the protection of water resources: only in this way will we be able to guarantee a future for our countryside and crops that represent the excellence of “Made in Italy”.
