According to the Italian Research Council (Cnr), summer 2017 was the third driest summer since 1800. During the last 9 months, rainfall has decreased by 40%. The drought affected our region as well, with an estimate loss of 90million euros in July. The significant lowering of the water level in the Garda lake and the visible drying up of the Po river give a major cause of concern.
Certainly, the water system of Lombardy is one of the most efficient, with a relatively low water loss if compared with other regions. The high rate of technological development in the agri-food chain of Lombardy contributes and will contribute for sure in the reduction of damages.
But we still have some questions. Is Lombardy more resilient than the other regions of Italy? Does the fact that Lombardy is the Italian lake region, crossed by the many tributaries of the river Po, help mitigate the effects of the drought? Apart from numbers and statistics, is the producers’ and famers’ concern real? Is our economy heavily damaged? Are we truly aware of the challenges we will face in the years to come, whose trend seems to be already clear? What can we do to tackle the problem and how can we do it? These are the questions we want to ask you. It’s fundamental to know what the real protagonists of the agri-food sector in Lombardy think, in order to build a flourishing, non-dry future.
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