Industrial tomatoes: climate change poses a threat

I process tomatoes, in Italian industrial tomatoes, are the ones that arrive in our house in the form of preserves or ketchup. Sudden climate change can negatively affect it
crops. By 2050, a 6% decrease compared to 1990-2009 has already been forecast. Among the most affected industrial tomatoes are exactly those Italians.

Usually the impact of the climate on the food chain is looked at, but then on several crops
such as rice or wheat. It is the first time that industrial tomatoes have been studied. THE
results are not rosy at all.

Industrial tomatoes are grown in open fields, which means we have no control over the environment in which they grow.

Davide Cammarano, study coordinator

The researchers used five different climate models to predict three different scenarios.
Well, they took the top three tomato-producing countries in the world: the US, Italy and China. For the future
30-40 year old experts predict a great drop of the crop. Italy and the south are most affected
California.

In China is different, there might be a solution to the crops further north. There are more areas there
fresh: Gansu and Mongolia, for example, could protect future industrial tomato fields.
Although unfortunately it would only represent a very small part of the current ones in Italy and California.

Research should be useful for agricultural and manufacturing industries to organize themselves in time for the future and for climate change.

It is important that companies try to understand how to deal with these changes and develop operational and research strategies for the future.

Dev Niyogi, one of the authors of the study