Italy plans to ask Switzerland for water for its farmlands

Turin Agricultural Association calls for a state of emergency due to drought Keystone-SDA

The Italian region of Piedmont is struggling with drought. The Piedmontese government plans to ask the Swiss canton of Ticino to increase the volume of water supplied to the region. At the same time, the Turin-based farmers’ association Coldiretti is calling for a state of emergency to be declared due to the drought.

“We cannot wait a minute longer,” said regional president Alberto Cirio, who had convened a round-table meeting on Monday to discuss the water crisis in the region, as reported by the Italian news agency Ansa. Around 100 municipalities had already issued regulations to control drinking water consumption, and in some mountainous areas water tankers were already having to be deployed, Cirio went on to explain.

The Piedmont regional government also intends to apply to the Aosta Valley region for an increase in the water supply for agricultural use. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Ticino government had not yet received any official request from Piedmont, as the government spokesperson told the Keystone-SDA news agency in response to an enquiry.

Average rainfall in June in the Po basin was 36% below the historical monthly average for the years 1991 to 2020. Temperatures, by contrast, were 3.5°C above average. At Isola Sant’Antonio near Alessandria, the River Po recorded an average flow rate that was 75% below the historical average.

Extraordinary support needed

The Turin-based farmers’ association Coldiretti (Federazione Provinciale Coltivatori Diretti di Torino) – Italy’s largest farmers’ association – also called on the government, following the round-table discussion, to grant an exemption from the regulations on minimum water flow and ecological discharge, as reported by the Italian news agency Adnkronos.

According to the farmers’ association, the declaration of a state of emergency for the agricultural sector has already met with approval from many mayors. It would make it possible to put in place extraordinary support measures for farms facing an increasingly difficult season.

“The situation is rapidly worsening across the whole Turin area,” noted Bruno Mecca Cici, president of Coldiretti Turin. “In the areas irrigated by the historic, partly centuries-old network of canals that draw water from our Alpine rivers, there are already very serious problems along the Pellice, the Chisone-Lemina, the Stura di Lanzo, the Orco and the Sangone.”

However, the areas without irrigation are particularly hard hit, as agriculture there has always relied on normal rainfall in spring and summer, rather than a complete lack of rain.

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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.