Italy's Farmers Lose 1/2 Billion Euros To Drought & Heat - Reuters

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MILAN - Drought has caused Italian farmers losses of some 500 million euros (US$637 million) so far this year, hitting rice and maize producers in the north particularly hard, the main industry body said on Thursday.

Coldiretti, Italy's biggest farmers' group, said the Po river had in one place dropped to a record low of 7.41 metres (24 feet 4 inches) below sea level. Water levels of the big northern lakes were also below the sea, it said.

"The impact on Italy is devastating, especially in the north ... the water reserves are almost finished," Rolando Manfredini, a weather expert at Coldiretti, told Reuters. With the water levels so low, Manfredini said there was the danger of salty seawater flowing inland, hurting crops.

Coldiretti has asked authorities to help farmers by releasing Alpine water reserves stored for power production.

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