South West NRM joined a group of about 30 stakeholders in Perth last week to provide input on the Federal Government’s current review of its $5 billion Future Drought
Fund.
The fund provides $100 million each year for drought resilience initiatives that help farmers and rural communities prepare for the impacts of drought.
Back in 2021, the fund launched eight Drought Resilience and Adoption Innovation Hubs across Australia.
The hubs help farmers get ready for drought by connecting them with regional agriculture experts, innovation and new practices.
The South West hub is hosted by the Grower Group Alliance with South West NRM appointed as Node Lead for the Bunbury area. Our Manager Sustainable Agriculture Peter Clifton undertakes the hub’s Node Lead role, gathering and sharing knowledge, coordinating local activities and supporting the hub to increase the uptake of drought resilience practices and technologies.
A Productivity Commission report on the Future Drought Fund’s first four years and released earlier this year made various recommendations for improvement and a consultation process is now underway to inform the next four years of funding.
Peter said there was generally positive feedback on what FDF had achieved so far.
“We are working on developing more case studies demonstrating what farmers are doing to be drought resilient and how they are implementing
practices. These can provide relevant and feasible options for growers to adapt to drought.” he said.
