Sicily, a southern island of Italy, is grappling with a severe water shortage amid persisting drought, which has dealt heavy blows to local agriculture and livestock and incurred losses of over 2.5 billion euros, according to the local agricultural authorities.

As a major grain producer of Italy, Sicily has suffered a prolonged drought for several years, which has led to grain output reduction, with the most hit farmers losing over 90 percent of grain output. Some farmers have been compelled to plant other crops or turn their land for different uses.

Giuseppe Li Rosi, a local farmer in central Sicily, faced an economic loss of 170,000 euros this year due to the drought. To deal with the situation, he upgraded his farm's irrigation system, and is eager to see more rainfall next year.

"The problems of drought have sustained, and the lakes and reservoirs are nearly dry up. The little precipitation would be quickly sucked by the arid land, after all, we've had little rain in the past two years," said Li Rosi.

According to the agricultural authorities of Sicily Region, 70 percent of the local farms were hit hard by the water scarcity, incurring economic losses of up to 2.5 billion euros. The output of traditional crops of the island, like wheat, olives and citrus, declined drastically, and the livestock sector was also hit hard.

Scientists and environmentalists pointed out that the underlying reason for the drought is climate change. According to the forecasts of climatologists, one-third of the land on Sicily Island will face the threat of desertification by 2030.

Source - https://www.bastillepost.com