Michele Borzoni
Little snow in winter, then almost no rain for months – northern Italy is going through an extreme period of drought. Agriculture is affected, but not only they.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen next. With every day without rain, the paddy fields become drier,” says farmer Ezio Damnotti. Where the river Ticino flows into the Po, near Pavia, the fields appear green at first glance, but on closer inspection some are already brownish. “That field there is under water, it shimmers in the sun, that’s how it should be. The field here is a little higher, the plants are no longer in the water, but the ground is damp, it’s still ok. But over there, the yellow stripes in the field, that’s where the rice is beginning to wither.” Enough water, not enough water, the transitions are fluid.