Across Australia, $100 million will be invested annually in projects to strengthen drought resilience. These projects will:
- provide opportunities for farmers and communities to adopt new technologies
- improve their environmental and natural resource management
- diversify their farm business planning and decision making
- participate in a range of community resilience activities.
The Australian and Western Australian (WA) Governments have entered into funding agreements for the provision of programs. The WA Government will work with subject matter experts and industry groups to deliver these initiatives and a range of training programs. For more information, go to the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund webpage [1].
The WA Government, through the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), will roll out two Future Drought Fund programs:
Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs
The WA Government is a partner in two of eight Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs established around the country.
For detailed information, visit the Australian Government's research adoption program webpage [4]
South West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub
The South-West (SW) WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub will be led by the Grower Group Alliance (GGA), and supported by a partnership between peak industry representative organisations, natural resource management groups, and the WA Government.
It will transform the drought resilience of pastoralists, farmers, traditional owners and communities and become a flagship for agricultural innovation in the WA’s South-West.
The hub will build greater connectivity across WA to drive the uptake of new research and innovation, with collaborative and co-designed projects translating knowledge into practical on ground outcomes.
The SWWA Hub has appointed Regional Node Leads, which will provide guidance on priority issues impacting the drought and climate resilience of farming systems, their industries and communities. Node Lead positions are aligned with Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development office locations.
Regional Advisory Committees (RACs) comprise skills-based representatives of agricultural industries for each of four agro-ecological zones in the area covered by the Hub. Through their knowledge and expertise, they will provide guidance to the Hub on priority issues impacting the drought and climate resilience of farming systems, their industries and communities.
For more information, visit the SWWA Drought Hub [5].
Northern WA/Northern Territory Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub
Charles Darwin University (CDU) leads the Northern WA/NT Hub supported by a consortium of core partners including industry bodies (Kimberly Pilbara Cattlemen’s Association, Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association, Northern Territory Farmers Association) as well as NRM organisations (Territory NRM, WA Rangelands NRM), Regional Development Australia and government agencies (WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the NT Department of Industry Tourism and Trade).
The hub will collaborate to improve the resilience of farmers, traditional owners, and communities in the Northern Territory and Western Australian tropical Top End and rangelands.
This Hub will focus on pastoral, broadacre, horticulture and forestry systems and water management.
The major focus will be on co-creating innovative tools, techniques and practices to support producers and their communities to achieve greater efficiency and sustainability in agricultural lands management. The Hub will work closely with the network of existing research farms in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
It will provide a great opportunity for collaboration across a unique and diverse part of the country.
For more information, visit the NWANT Drought Hub: nwanthub.org.au/ [6]
FDF: new online tools
The FDF has two key programs designed to help farmers and people on the land prepare for the future, to make climate information more accessible and useful for farmers, industry, and rural and regional communities.
- Climate Services for Agriculture (CSA) tool - a new CSA tool, developed by BOM & CSIRO, provides farmers with historical climate data, seasonal forecasts, and future climate projections at a 5km2 resolution, delivered in a user-friendly interactive platform. Farmers can easily assess how climate variables could change in future. Visit the Climate Services for Agriculture (CSA) prototype [7] or to help shape its development, contact csaenquiries@csiro.au [8].
- Drought Resilience Self-Assessment Tool (DR.SAT) - DR.SAT is an online drought resilience tool to farmers to prepare for future droughts. It has a wealth of resources spanning financial, environmental and personal aspects of farming to give you more options in a changing climate. Check it out at: drsat.com.au [9]