Spain's largest olive producers co-operative Dcoop said it expected a similarly low harvest for this year due to drought. Spain's drought-hit olive oil production slumped to 663,000 tonnes last year, less than half the average of 1.45 million tons recorded in the previous four harvests, according to the government. The changes are being driven both by European Union environmental incentives and stark realities. "You had to be careful because you could fit your foot in them," he said.Ĭover crops are now used on about 30% of olive groves in Spain, according to Spain's agriculture ministry, with scientists and companies expecting rapid growth in the next few years. His son, Angel, said that before that large cracks would form where the soil eroded. He began growing grasses alongside trees almost 30 years ago to stop water draining away down the hill on his 74-hectare olive grove in the southern region of Andalusia. Spanish farmer Miguel Moreno was an early adopter of so-called cover crops. "I can adjust irrigation at any time, even from my smartphone, avoiding any wastage," says Ronca, 35. The Italian farming industry is the European Union's third-largest in terms of production value, behind France and Germany but ahead of Spain, which is in fourth place.Īndrea Ronca, who grows cereals for his family's cattle farm in the province of Mantua in northern Italy, uses satellite images to track where his land is driest. This year has seen another scorching summer, punctuated by damaging hailstorms in the north, in line with scientists' predictions for climate change in the region.
Italy, renowned for wines and pasta wheat, suffered one of its most severe droughts in 70 years in 2022.
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