The climate crisis is having a big
impact on Italian food production, with yields down 27% this
year with respect to the average for the previous five years,
farmers association Coldiretti said on Tuesday.
In a report presented at the Macfrut fair in Rimini, Coldiretti
said Italy's 2021 fruit harvest was the worst so far this
century.
It blamed a long series of extreme weather events, which experts
say are more frequent and intense because of human caused
climate change.
These included drought in the spring, violent storms and floods.
It said pear yields were hit especially hard, falling 69% this
year with respect to the average for the last five, while peach
production was down 48%.
It said some farmers lost their whole harvest this year because
of the climate emergency.
Coldiretti said Italy's fruit-and-vegetable sector employs
440,000 people, 40% of the nation's agriculture jobs.
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