“Europe used to be rich in water. We were used to think that water will always be there, but this is not going to be the case in the future”. – Francesco Avanzi, Researcher in Hydrology & Project Manager at CIMA Foundation.
Italian rice, first cultivated by monks in medieval times, then weeded by proto feminists called Mondine from the late 18th century to the 50’s, is now facing its greatest challenge yet: climate change.

Hundreds of rice varieties, each addressing separate climate change issues, are planted in numbered lines at Ente Nazionale Risi, where Filip Haxhari – Managing Director of Genetic Improvement, spent years conducting his research. From these experimental crops, an older variety named Prometeo (Prometheus), was bred to develop deeper, more vertical roots. Line 81 from the Prometheus crop, officially named PRM81, was identified as a promising candidate for a drought-resistant rice, therefore nicknamed the "Rice of the Future".

Research, farming, and local life are all connected by the flow of the river Po, the longest in Italy. This legendary river has recently seen more extreme weather, leading to droughts and floods almost every year. The Lomellina area, southwest of Milan, famous for its risotto rice, depends on it for its agricultural economy. Farmers are split on the arguments around climate change, but they all recognise the need to prepare for the future. Locals, transported by the events, observe on as the river changes alongside their lives.

Upstream, a team of researchers, aware of the incoming danger, heads to the Alps to collect data from forests – one of nature’s health indicators. Marta Galvagno, biometereologist, uses the most sophisticated techniques and instruments available to research the Alpine ecosystem at over 2000 metres, to assess its role in climate change mitigation. Francesco Avanzi, hydrologist (and risotto lover), comments on the importance of snow on the availability of water during summer, particularly crucial for rice crops: “why should anybody care? As my dad once told me, ‘Because less snow in winter means less water in summer!’