SAN CATALDO: A devastating drought in Sicily has withered grain fields, deprived livestock of pasture and fueled a spate of forest fires that have already caused damage estimated at 2.7 billion euros this year.
In an attempt to mitigate the effects of the water crisis, the Italian government declared a state of emergency for the southern island in early May and unblocked funds to buy water tankers, drill wells and renovate pumping and desalination stations.
But the following months of continued high temperatures did nothing to improve already dire conditions, with farmers giving up on their harvests and now wondering how they will feed and water their animals.
The soil in these parts, devoid of vegetation, is bare and cracked. Rivers, ponds and watering holes have dried up and farm machinery sits idle on formerly productive land while cows wander in search of a blade of grass.
The wheat harvest in Sicily, once the breadbasket of ancient Rome, is expected to drop by more than 50 percent this year, according to agricultural lobby Coldiretti.
While efforts are being made to bring in feed from outside, the water situation is “critical,” Palmieri said.
“The animals don’t have water to drink, we don’t know what to do.
Their pale brown skin matches the dry, dusty landscape behind them.
“Climate change in Sicily is real. We’ve talked about it in the past, but we could never imagine experiencing it firsthand,” Scarantino said.
Unlike the Sicilian coast, which is largely dependent on tourism, “in the interior of Sicily, which depends on livestock and agriculture, climate change plays a significant role,” he said.
In addition to the threat to livestock and grain fields, the drought is also affecting fruit trees, vineyards and olive groves totaling more than 2.7 billion euros ($2.9 billion), Coldiretti said.
Meanwhile, 5,800 hectares (14,000 acres) of farmland have caught fire since early July due to wildfires that erupt in drought, the group said.
The effects of the drought are exacerbated by a lack of investment in infrastructure “to avoid wasting water,” Coldiretti said.
According to Italy’s National Institute of Statistics (Istat), Sicily has one of the highest levels of drinking water waste in the country, with 51.6 percent of water lost from distribution circuits in 2022.
Istat, which says 157 liters per person are lost every day in Italy, blames the waste on “the persistent state of inefficiency of many distribution networks”.
