Crops changing due to climate crisis says Coldiretti

(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 5 - The climate crisis is having a profound impact on agricultural production in Italy with the growing cultivation of tropical fruit such as mango, avocado and banana and the migration of crops further north, farmers' association Coldiretti said on Tuesday. One thousand hectares of farmland are already devoted to mango production as a result of rising temperatures and more intense rainfall, according to Coldiretti.
    The 'tropicalisation' of crops is particularly marked in the southern regions of Sicily, Puglia and Calabria, although changes are also clearly visible in other parts of the country.
    The Po valley running west-east across north Italy is increasingly becoming host to typically Mediterranean crops such as wheat and tomatoes grown for producing sauce, while the grapes at the base of Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle Dop are grown at 1.200 m above sea level in the Val d'Aosta in the highest vineyards in Europe.
    Likewise, olive trees are populating the Valtellina valley in the alps, with approximately 10,000 specimens planted in the last ten years. (ANSA).