Cash offered to build resilience to drought, climate risks

WITH drought being a hot topic for the ag industry at the moment, farmers are keen to look at building more robust

programs into their operations to fend off the longer term impacts from drought.

In a move to assist farmers to be more resilient, the federal government’s Future Drought Fund is offering eligible Australian organisations to apply for two new grant programs.

These programs will trial innovative solutions with the potential to build the agriculture sector, landscapes and communities’ long-term resilience to drought and climate risks, through transformational change.

The $40 million Resilient Landscapes Program focuses on demonstrating how implementing and scaling of practices, technologies or approaches to manage natural resources on farm, builds drought and climate resilience.

The $40.3 million Long-term Trials of Drought Resilient Farming Practices Program Round 2 looks at investigating new practices and technologies that will improve productivity in variable weather through evidence-based trials, co-designed with farmers.

Both grant rounds are open to agricultural industries in Australia and will be delivered over six years.

Applicants must form consortia; that is, two or more organisations working together to develop and deliver an eligible project.

Applications close on November 19.

To learn more about the grants and apply, head to agriculture.gov.au