Italy's Rice Farms Battle Drought: The Water Woes of the Po Valley

In Italy's Po Valley, rice farmers face severe challenges due to prolonged drought and scarce rainfall. Forced into drastic measures, like water rotation and abandoning fields, farmers struggle to save their crops. Proposed solutions include winter flooding and water farming to combat future droughts.

In a corner of Lombardy, Italy, rice fields tell a story of struggle as drought has left many withered and barren. Giuseppe Tagliabue, like many others, faces a harsh reality of reduced water availability due to increasing heatwaves and scanty rainfall.

Italy, the largest rice producer in Europe, sees its 235,000 hectares of rice land under threat. The northern provinces of Pavia, Vercelli, and Novara once thrived on the Po River basin, but now face dire drought conditions, with water levels plummeting to record lows.

Farmers have turned to innovative measures like the rotation system, distributing limited resources across fields weekly. Despite these efforts, many remain uncertain about covering rising costs as rice prices fall and non-EU competition grows, jeopardizing Italy's iconic rice culture.