Experts are sounding the alarm. On Thursday April 13, 2023, the Geological and Mining Research Bureau (BRGM) announced that 75% of groundwater tables were below normal in March, compared to 80% in February.

“The end of winter 2022-2023 was marked by a strong deficit of effective rainfall and February 2023 was characterized by falling levels. In March, the cumulative rainfall was excessive over a large part of the territory. However the impact on the groundwater is heterogeneous: 41% of the observation points are on the rise, 32% are stable but 27% remain down”, notes the establishment.

Before concluding: “The rains first made it possible to moisten the dry soils then allowed the vegetation to come out of its dormancy before succeeding in infiltrating in depth”. In 2022, at the same time, 56% of the water tables were in difficulty… And the drought was devastating throughout the season.

At the microphone of franceinfo, Arnaud Rousseau recalls that agriculture “lives on water” and “transforms it into food for the French”.

For this reason, the president of the National Federation of Farmers’ Unions (FNSEA) hammered: “We need to plan, to store water, in responsibility, when water is available (…) The agriculture is aware that climate change on the way will be a major change in its practices”.

Harvests and crops could therefore be seriously affected by the drought, and food could become scarcer and more expensive. Discover the main endangered foodstuffs in our slideshow below.