Nine hundred farmers in the Nurra region were affected by drought. A dramatic situation was exposed today in Sassari during a protest organized by the Agricultural Studies Center in front of the Land Reclamation Consortium headquarters on Via Rolando.
The CSA has proposed several proposals to overcome the difficulties or at least provide assistance to workers experiencing a dramatic situation. " Drought compensation," argues Tore Piana, president of the CSA, "must not be passed with the convoluted de minimis law, which risks denying aid to over 70% of companies . " The partial use of wastewater is also considered "scandalous": "It is only used for three months, and yet it is a waste to dump it into the sea. We are asking that it be used for irrigation year-round, and not just from June to August." This refers to Lake Cuga, which the then-President of the Region, Renato Soru, also allocated to Alghero in emergency situations.
A forgotten chapter was also discussed, what the CSA defines as "Eni's broken promises regarding green chemistry in Porto Torres, which should have involved farmers in the Nurra region in crops, such as sunflowers. A chapter that has fallen into oblivion, but which must be reopened."
The Nurra irrigation basin covers 27,000 hectares, yet requests have only reached 5,000: "A paradoxical figure explained by the uncertainty surrounding water availability and the difficulty of maintaining competitive prices for agricultural products." The situation in the horticultural sector is dire, with both winter and summer produce affected this year . "For example, the Bancali-La Crucca area," says Stefano Ruggiu, vice president of the CSA, "which has a dam on the Rio Mannu with reservoirs and pumps that the land reclamation consortium diverts to that area, has been without a drop of water since July 4th. This is because Enas requisitioned the pumping station to send water to the Truncu Reale water treatment plant. The end result is that horticultural companies have no profit, but instead a loss, due to the huge costs of cultivation."
The Agricultural Studies Center has presented a series of requests to the Nurra Land Reclamation Consortium, such as installing missing meters and updating user lists to reduce costs or repair leaking pipelines. Above all, it has requested that a discussion be held with the Regional President, the Agriculture Councilor, and trade associations to find shared solutions.