Drought and a succession of three heat waves since June – attributed by scientific consensus to climate change - have severely reduced river flows across France, multiplying water restriction measures, directly affecting agricultural production.
Across the fields of France, crops are suffering from heat and drought, with water restrictions worrying the farming community, especially with regard to corn production, which has already been hit hard by the record-breaking temperatures.
With just 9.7 millimetres of rain in July according to weather service Météo France, rainfall over the past four weeks was 84 percent down on average figures for July over the past three decades.
The French drought has hampered agriculture and force widespread restrictions on the use of freshwater.
The cumulative effects of drought and the lack of water are occurring during the pollination of corn – a crucial period for the crop’s development.
According to Xavier de Castelbajac, head of cereal marketing at the Maïsadour cooperative group, corn is generally sown between April and May.
When the plants start growing, the pollination period begins by early July.
“The flower will fertilise the plant and thanks to this fertilisation an ear will form with corn grains," before being harvested at the beginning of October, De Castelbajac explains.
🌡️ #VaguedeChaleur
— Météo-France (@meteofrance) August 1, 2022
A quoi s'attendre ces trois prochains jours ? pic.twitter.com/sOfHGMiaxW
Crop yields falling dramatically
The group, which has 60% of its plots irrigated, has noted a clear difference compared with those that are not – the drop in yield is estimated at between 10 and 20% for some plots, compared with a drop of 50%, or even more, without irrigation.
Maïsadour holds some 70,000 hectares of cereals in France.
On a national scale, the proportion of grain maize plots considered to be in "good to excellent" condition has fallen from 75% to 68% in the space of a week, according to FranceAgriMer's latest CéréObs barometer published on 29 July.
According to France’s Ministry of Agriculture, the annual volume of water consumed nationwide is estimated at 5.3 billion cubic metres per year; agriculture is the leading water-consuming activity amounting to 45% of the total water supply, ahead of the cooling of power stations at 31%, drinking water 21% and just 3% for industrial use.
However, faced with dry soil, irrigation is the only way to guarantee yield levels for maize upon which industries count on – particularly for animal feed.
Sécheresse: Paris et la petite couronne passent à leur tour sous "vigilance" pic.twitter.com/wA4KNu8h7S
— BFM Paris Île-de-France (@BFMParis) August 2, 2022
Paris region on drought alert
Meanwhile the prefecture of the Ile-de-France department has placed Paris, the Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne on "drought" alert, with all departments in metropolitan France now affected by the climatic phenomenon amid calls for water saving measures.
On 25 July, the flow of the river Seine fell below the 81m3/s threshold at the Paris-Austerlitz train station, triggering a switch to drought vigilance.
In the greater Paris region, individuals, local authorities and companies have been encouraged by the prefecture –but not obliged – to ration consumption, by avoiding watering green spaces or roads, washing vehicles and limiting domestic consumption.
All 96 departments in France are now implicated in a national "drought plan".
46 departments are at "crisis" level red, with only priority water use authorised, such as drinking water, hygiene, health and safety.
In the 38 departments at the "reinforced alert" level orange, pumping for agriculture is reduced to at least 50% and there are limitations on watering gardens and golf courses.
