Italy tests climate-resistant wheat to safeguard pasta

As Italy endures its fourth heatwave of the summer, with all 27 major cities placed on the highest heat alert, researchers in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna are working on a quieter but equally pressing front: the future of pasta. According to France 24, scientists in Italy's "Food Valley" are testing climate-resistant wheat, focusing on the main ingredient of the iconic dish to ensure it can withstand the hotter, drier conditions that are becoming the norm across the Mediterranean.

The effort, reported by France 24's correspondents in the region, comes as extreme heat this year has already fueled wildfires across Europe and disrupted agriculture from Spain to the Balkans. Italy, one of the world's largest pasta producers and consumers, relies heavily on durum wheat, a crop particularly sensitive to heat stress during its flowering and grain-filling stages. The research in Emilia-Romagna aims to develop varieties that maintain yield and quality even when temperatures spike, a hedge against what scientists describe as a changing climate.

The project is part of a broader European push to adapt staple crops to global warming. In Emilia-Romagna, a region already known for its high-value food production — including Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and traditional balsamic vinegar — the stakes are economic as much as cultural. Pasta is a central element of Italy's culinary identity and its export economy, with the country shipping billions of euros worth of dried pasta abroad each year. A failure of the durum wheat harvest would ripple through the food chain, from millers to the small artisanal producers who define the region's reputation.

France 24's report highlights that the researchers are not only breeding for heat tolerance but also for resistance to drought and disease, traits that are becoming more critical as the Mediterranean basin warms faster than the global average. The work is still experimental, with field trials underway, but it points to a future where technology and traditional agriculture must converge. For Italy, a country that has seen its summer temperatures edge close to 40C in recent weeks, according to the Guardian, the ability to grow its most symbolic crop in a hotter climate is no longer a distant concern but an immediate one.