Prolonged drought leaves Sicily parched and farmers fear they will be forced to sell their animals

CAMMARATA, Italy — On a scorching July afternoon, a municipal tanker arrives in a cloud of dust at Liborio Mangiapane’s farm in southern Sicily. Some of the precious liquid is transferred to a smaller tanker on a tractor that Mangiapane’s son will use to fill the water troughs of 250 cattle and sheep, but by tomorrow the truck’s 10,000 liters will have been used up.

Crippling drought of a year with almost no rain, coupled with record temperatureshas burned much of the region’s hay and is pushing farmers to the limit. For Mangiapane, every day is a struggle to find water, with frantic phone calls, long drives to distant wells and long waits for municipal tankers.

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

“We are living in a period of extreme heat and so the animals need a lot of water,” Mangiapane said. “It is a constant anxiety to prevent the animals from suffering, but also to have the possibility to wash.”

According to Coldiretti, Italy’s main farmers’ association, the worst year of rainfall in more than 20 years has led to a 70% drop in fodder production in Sicily. The main river basins are almost empty and the authorities are strictly rationing water.

The region is one of Italy’s breadbaskets, producing 20% ​​of the country’s durum wheat, which is used to make pasta. Coldiretti estimates that the drought could reduce the island’s production by up to 70%, leading to a greater reliance on imports. In the coming months, the drought could affect olive oil and peach production. The warm weather has caused the grape harvest to start nearly 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 to buy tankers, dig new wells and repair leaking aqueducts. Coldiretti donated 1.5 million tonnes of fodder and the regional government provided subsidies to farmers forced to buy hay from third parties.

Some areas of Sicily have seen rainfall deficits of up to 60 percent, according to the meteorological 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 degrees Fahrenheit) in many areas.

Farmers have seen basins, lakes and ponds that were once reliable sources of water disappear.

Luca Cammarata watches his sheep search for water on his farm in the province of Caltanissetta, one of the worst-hit areas of Sicily. The region has had almost no rain for a year, reservoirs are almost empty and wells and groundwater will have to be tapped at critical levels if rain does not come soon.

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

The nearby Pergusa Lake was once a refuge for migratory birds: a natural basin with an area of ​​1.4 km² and an average depth of about 2 meters. Today it looks like a puddle.

The story unfolds similarly in Mangiapane’s home, just over an hour northwest, near the town of Cammarata. From his barn, he looks out over an area where rainwater would normally collect in a large pond, providing water for his animals, but the pond is now “as dry as a football pitch.”

August typically marks the start of the winter rainy season, says Mangiapane, a longtime herder who has built a reputation as a strong advocate of natural grazing and small-scale cheesemaking over industrial-scale farming.

“I hope it will 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. “We worked all year without any profit. No wheat, no fodder for the cows. And neither the regional government nor the national government took strong measures.”

Local authorities rushed to open new wells, repair desalination equipment and deliver water. In late July, the Italian Navy’s first oil tanker docked in Licata to deliver 12 million litres of water to the worst-hit areas.

The local river basin authority is strictly rationing water for nearly a million residents, with water running for only two to four hours a week in the worst-hit areas. While taps are turned off, households and farms are being supplied by tanker trucks, as Sicily’s aqueducts are losing up to 60% of the water they carry, according to local water company AICA.

As climate change Rainfall has been more erratic and temperatures higher, but there is hope that aqueduct renovations, new reservoirs and deep wells will help Sicily adapt.

Giulio Boccaletti, scientific director of the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change, said Sicily is experiencing “the new normal” of climate change and the region will need to determine whether its scarce water is being used wisely, including for what farmers produce.

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Leila El Zabri contributed from Rome.

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