According to Coldiretti, Italy’s largest association representing agriculture, the drought has had an extreme effect across a variety of sectors including wine and agriculture.

Roberto Moncalvo, president of Coldiretto, said that all must be done to help farmers in the areas affected.

“We need to help farmers [who] in these 20 years have invested so much.”

Moncalvo also acknowledged that the country must move from emergency policies to preventive ones.

State of emergency

While agriculture is paying a high price for the drought due to insufficient irrigation measures, some provinces (Parma and Piacenza) have declared a state of emergency.

The first half of 2017 saw just 251mm of rainfall in the country. Average annual rainfall in Italy can reach up to 2,000mm with the majority of regions getting over 700mm of rainfall each year.

Fires have also caused major difficulties in the region, with it reported last month that up to 2,500ha of land were lost to fire in Sicily.

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Drought in Italy cost €2bn

A severe period of dry weather in Italy has led to costs of up to €2bn in the country.