Italy risks losing the raw materials for culinary delights like risotto because of global warming's impact on the River Po.
Experts at a conference in Parma warned Monday that it may not be possible to grow water-intensive crops such as rice and corn in the Po valley in the future because the country's biggest river will not have enough water for them.
The 675 km-long Po feeds irrigation channels in four Italian regions as it cuts across the north from west to east.
Global warming is coming at the mighty river from two directions, experts say.
Increased temperatures mean more water evaporates as it flows down towards the sea.
Greater heat also makes the land drier, so farmers have to siphon off more water from the river for their crops. As a result the level of the Po has fallen 20-25% in the last 30 years, according to a study presented at the conference by the Italian Environmental Protection Agency (APAT).
The river has frequently been in a state of emergency in recent years. Parts of it were reduced to their lowest levels in living memory during a prolonged dry spell in 2006.
This situation is destined to get worse as climate change continues, scientists say, with dramatic consequences for farmers.
Some have predicted that the Po's fresh waters may eventually run out 100 kilometres before they reach the river's mouth.
This would cause marine waters from the Adriatic to sweep up it.
Environment Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio expressed alarm.
"We have to intervene immediately because the situation is getting increasingly critical," said Pecoraro Scanio, who is also the leader of Italy's Green party.
"Above all, we must act to wipe out the waste".
The minister said a recent study in the province of Padua showed that almost 40% of the water drawn is wasted because of problems with the distribution network.
He also said farmers should use water resources in a "more efficient, rational way".
House Environmental Committee President Ermete Realacci said the problem is aggravated by construction firms, which continue to remove large quantities of sand from the river bed, often illegally.
Italian farmers' association Coldiretti stressed that one third of the nation's agro-food output - and the livelihoods it supports - depend on the Po.
It called for preventative measures to be introduced immediately.
"The Po is indispensable to the survival of whole sectors where Italy is a European leader, like rice and sugar," Coldiretti said in a statement.
The APAT study showed that around 73% of the water drawn from the Po is for agriculture.
Drinking water accounts for 11% of the extracted water, while hydroelectric-energy plants (9%) and industry (7%) take up the rest.
The Parma conference is part of a series of events being staged to prepare for a major national conference on coping with climate change, which will take place in Rome in September.
