Flamingo alarm in Italy: rice farmers fight for their harvest!

Flamingo alarm in Italy: rice farmers fight for their harvest!

farmers in the Emilia-Romagna, especially in the Ferrara region, face an existential crisis that is caused by the increase in flamingos and other wild birds. These animals endanger their rice fields by looking for molluscs, insects and small crustaceans. Giampaolo Cenacchi, Reisbauer and Vice President of the consortium "Riso del Delta del Po" reports that the harvest losses have risen to up to 80 percent. The farmers have started to carry out nightly patrols to drive away the feathered pests. With horns, space cartridges and headlights, they try to keep the birds away, but with moderate success, since the flamingos are increasingly getting used to the noises.

In recent years, the number of rice fields in the region has halved, which also exacerates the situation of farmers. Cenacchi describes Flamingos as the last plague after the region has already been burdened by droughts and heavy rain. In particular, the climatic changes have influenced the agricultural environment in the Emilia-Romagna, so that old problems revive.

additional challenges from climate change

Agriculture in Italy not only fights with sudden steaming conditions, but also with extreme weather events. In March 2023 there were considerable floods that cost 17 people. The floors that were damaged by persistent drought suddenly could no longer absorb large amounts of rain.

Studies show that climate change has serious effects on agriculture worldwide, especially in tropical and subtropical regions, where a decline in production can be expected. This could also affect Italian agriculture, because it is becoming increasingly important to protect both flamingos and crops. This topic is gaining urgency, since by 2050 an increase in the world's population is forecast by three billion people, which requires a significant increase in agricultural production. At the same time, games like the flamingos are extremely popular with tourists and move visitors to the Delta area of ​​the PO, which is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The farmers appeal to the authorities to take appropriate measures and compensation to preserve their rice fields. Your needs illustrate the need for institutional support in order to develop short -term solutions for current problems and long -term strategies for adapting to climate change. In this context, agricultural practices and the use of natural resources must be reconciled to ensure future nutritional certainty. This is a challenge that is becoming increasingly clear in many areas of agriculture worldwide, while the conditions due to climate change are constantly changing.