(MENAFN- Swissinfo)
The amount of money being invested in smart irrigation technology should be quadrupled in the next ten years, said Hofer. Keystone / Lukas Lehmann
To cope with more frequent and lengthier periods of drought, food producers in Switzerland could grow more winter crops and turn to smart irrigation systems, says the head of the Federal Office for Agriculture.
This content was published on July 8, 2023 July 8, 2023 Tamedia/gw Italiano
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"l'agricoltura dovrebbe usare meno acqua"
“At the moment the drought is significant – you can see brown meadows everywhere,” said Christian Hofer in an interviewexternal link published in the Tamedia newspapers on Saturday.“If the weather stays like this in July and August, there will be big yield losses [for farmers].”
Hofer explained that while precipitation has remained constant in the country over the years, its distribution has changed. Glaciers, which act as reservoirs, have lost roughly half their volume as a result of climate change. Now, there also tends to be more precipitation in winter than in summer, which means less water during the growing season.
“We have to prepare ourselves for the fact that we will have water shortages in the summer in the future,” Hofer said.“We have to learn how to produce food with less water. In Switzerland, too, it can no longer be taken for granted that water will flow without restriction.”
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