Italy - No peace for Romagna as a hailstorm damages hundreds of hectares

29.06.2023 623 views

First the frost, then the excessive rain and then the flood... only hail was missing, and it hit the Romagna area on Jun 23rd, causing considerable damage between Ravenna and Cesena. 

Fellini Patrizio from Gambettola (Forlì-Cesena) has endured considerable damage as "hailstones fell on dozens of hectares, compromising at least one thousand lettuce plants ready for harvesting. Between Gentile, Trocadero, Romana, Canasta and Foglia di Quercia, the damage amounts to around 600,000 plants ready to be harvested over the next few weeks," reports Andrea Pignato, sales manager at Fellini."

"The smallest plants should be able to recover, but they will not be ready before another 15-20 days, causing a gap in supplies."

All this happened just when Fellini and other similar companies in Romagna were about to recover from the effects of the flood. Basically, businesses had to bear the costs of preparing the soil, purchasing the plants, transplants, fertilization, treatments and mechanical weeding operations only to have nothing left. 

"Our company firmly believes in planning, but it is clear how events such as this one - just like a flood, which is totally unpredictable - make everything useless. But we will not give up: thanks to our new growers, we will continue to suggest planning to big retail chains so as to organize our production and guarantee growers a fair income so that they can work without worries."

Source - https://www.freshplaza.com

04.05.2026

Bulgaria's Kyustendil cherry crop severely affected by frost for second consecutive year

Frosts have caused critical damage to cherry orchards in the Kyustendil region of Bulgaria for the second consecutive spring, with producers reporting near-total crop losses. 

04.05.2026

Vietnam - MoF moves to expand farm insurance support and eligibility

The Ministry of Finance has proposed sharply increasing agricultural insurance premium subsidies to up to 95 per cent and widening the pool of eligible beneficiaries to better share risks with producers, stabilise farm incomes, and strengthen climate resilience.

04.05.2026

Bangladesh - One lakh hectares of rice fields go underwater in haor regions

What should have been a vibrant harvest season in the country’s haor belt across seven districts has instead turned into widespread devastation. 

04.05.2026

Philippines - P150-M insurance buffer vs El Niño but PCIC limits coverage to irrigated farms

The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) in Western Visayas has set aside P150 million in drought insurance as El Niño conditions intensify, with officials warning that the region is already nearing “critical” risk levels that could threaten thousands of farmers in the coming cropping season.

04.05.2026

Indian banana crops damaged across 809 hectares in Tamil Nadu

Strong winds and heavy rainfall in parts of Tamil Nadu have damaged banana crops across districts, including Theni, Dindigul, Coimbatore, and Salem.

04.05.2026

Poland reports up to 100% fruit crop losses after late April frosts

Fruit growers in Poland are assessing losses after late April frosts damaged crops across multiple regions, with eastern areas most affected and stone fruit production under pressure.

03.05.2026

Vietnam - Aid for agricultural insurance premiums proposed to rise

The Ministry of Finance has proposed increasing support for agricultural insurance premiums and expanding eligible beneficiaries in a move aimed at encouraging greater participation by farmers and agricultural organisations.

03.05.2026

USA - MDARD Awards Over $3.2 Million Through Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Grant Program

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) today announced more than $3.2 million of grants to 10 Michigan entities through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) Grant Program.