Greece has experienced intense heat and drought for much of their summer.
The major weather events have had a knock-on effect for most farmers with some even contemplating giving it all up.
Unharvested crops lie sitting in fields, still clogged with mud from last year’s floods.
Farmers like Achilleas Gerotolios, who owns a farm in the village of Sotirio, are in such a dire state that he is even considering giving it all up.
Even farms who managed to survive the floods have another problem as temperatures hit up to 40 C causing crops to brown and be stunted.
Gerotolios’ wife, Eleni Archonti describes the weather in Greece as ‘either drought or flooding’, she told ekathimerini.com
The floods and extreme droughts have all had an increasingly negative effect on farmers alongside stagnant crop prices and rising costs.
It was estimated that around 35,000 acres of land was flooded early September in 2023 from Storms Daniel and Elias which equated to around 97 per cent of the cultivated land.
These storms impacted around 30,000 farmers growing wheat, fruits, cotton and corn.
Prior to the flooding, severe heatwaves in the region resulted in decreased vegetable and fruit production leading to significant price increases.
As such, farmers are struggling to see a future and are looking to the government for protection against future weather events that will surely cripple them if it happens again.
Gerotolios added that ‘compensation is not a solution’ as agriculture accounts for around 86 per cent of water use in Greece exacerbating risks brought on by droughts and floods.
The devastating impact is evident particularly in Sotirio where there were once 100 families but now only about 15.
In March, the European Commission referred Greece to the European Court of Justice for its failure at revising its river basin and its dismal flood risk plans
According to a 2021 World Bank Report, investing in infrastructure including dams, irrigation wells and flood pumps including improved water management and risk planning helps to mitigate the devastation caused by extreme weather such as flooding and drought.
The solution lies in the building of a network of dams in mountains to help collect stormwater and protect against flooding, said water management expert at the University of Thessaly, Nikitas Mylopoulos.
He added: “Despite the flood risk, the main problem in Greece is water shortages and drought, which ruins soil health, making it harder to absorb flood water.”
The ever increasing levels of tourism is also putting a major strain on Greece’s resources with governments needing to offer financial incentives for more sustainable farming practices such as the use of organic fertilisers.
