Prolonged drought dries out Sicily and farmers worry they will be forced to sell animals

CAMMARATA, Italy (AP) — On a scorching July afternoon, a municipal water truck stops in a cloud of dust at Liborio Mangiapane’s farm in southern Sicily. Some of the precious liquid is transferred to a smaller tank on a tractor that Mangiapane’s son will use to fill troughs for 250 cattle and sheep, but by tomorrow all 10,000 liters in the truck will be gone.

Devastating drought of a year with almost no rain, along with record temperatures, has burned much of the region’s hay and is pushing farmers to the limit. For Mangiapane, each day is a struggle to find water, with frantic phone calls, long trips to distant wells and long waits for municipal water tankers.

If it doesn’t rain by the end of August, he fears he will have to sell his cattle.

“We are in a time of extreme heat and that is why the animals need a lot of water,” said Mangiapane. “It’s constant anxiety to keep animals from suffering, but also just to have the opportunity to wash ourselves.”

The worst year in terms of rainfall in more than 20 years caused fodder production to fall by 70% across Sicily, according to Coldiretti, Italy’s main farmers’ association. Major river basins are nearly empty and authorities are strictly rationing water.

The region is one of Italy’s breadbaskets, producing 20% ​​of the country’s durum wheat used in pasta. Coldiretti estimated that the drought could reduce production on the island by up to 70%, leading to greater dependence on imports. In the coming months, the dry year could affect the production of olive oil and peaches. The warm weather has caused grape harvesting to begin almost four weeks early, although the crop has not yet been damaged.

In May, the national government declared a state of emergency in Sicily and allocated 20 million euros ($21.7 million) to buy tanker trucks, dig new wells and repair leaky aqueducts. Coldiretti donated 1.5 million tons of fodder and the regional government awarded subsidies to farmers forced to buy hay from third parties.

Some parts of Sicily have recorded rainfall deficits of up to 60%, according to the meteorology department of Italy’s National Research Council. The regional weather service reported above-average temperatures throughout June, with highs frequently exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in many areas.

Farmers have seen basins, lakes and ponds that used to be reliable irrigation sites disappear.

Luca Cammarata watched his sheep search for water on his farm in the province of Caltanissetta, one of the hardest-hit areas in Sicily. The area has had almost no rain for a year, the reservoirs are practically empty and the wells and aquifers will have to be explored at critical levels if it doesn’t rain soon.

“Here in this little basin there has never been a lack of water,” said Cammarata, as his sheep’s bells tinkled as they searched for water in the place where they used to find it. Soon, the animals would have to return to their barns to avoid the scorching sun.

Nearby Lake Pergusa used to be a refuge for migratory birds – a natural basin with an area of ​​1.4 square kilometers (0.5 square miles) and an average depth of about 2 meters. Now it looks like a puddle.

The story was the same at Mangiapane’s house, just over an hour northwest, near the town of Cammarata. He looked out from his barn at an area where rainwater usually collected into a large lake, providing water for his animals, but the lake was now “as dry as a football field.”

August typically marks the start of the winter rainy season, said Mangiapane, a longtime farmer who has gained a reputation as an outspoken advocate of natural pasture and small-scale cheese production rather than industrial-scale agriculture.

“I would like it to be a little better than last season, because this year we had to make a huge effort, both economically and in terms of human resources, with zero profit,” he said. . No wheat or fodder for the cows. And neither the regional nor the national government took strong measures.”

Local authorities rushed to dig new wells, repair desalination equipment and bring in water. At the end of July, the Italian navy’s first tanker docked in Licata to deliver 12 million liters (3.2 million gallons) to the most affected areas.

The catchment’s local authority is strictly rationing water for almost a million residents, with water only flowing two to four hours a week in the worst-affected areas. While the taps are closed, families and farms are supplied by tanker trucks, as Sicily’s aqueducts lose up to 60% of the water they transport, according to local water company AICA.

As of Climate Change has made rainfall more irregular and increased temperatures, there is hope that aqueduct renovations, new reservoirs and deep wells will help Sicily adapt.

Giulio Boccaletti, scientific director of the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, said Sicily is experiencing “the new normal” of climate change and that the region will have to examine whether its scarce water is used for the right things – including that farmers produce. .

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Leila El Zabri contributed from Rome.

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