The jointly funded federal and Victorian government programs were announced by Federal Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud and Victorian Agriculture Minister Mary-Anne Thomas.
Ms Thomas said the Regional Drought Resilience Planning program would develop initial plans in the Wimmera Southern Mallee, Goulburn, and Gippsland regions.
“Local farmers have learned valuable lessons from recent drought conditions in these three regions which will help them better prepare for future droughts,” Ms Thomas said.
“To support this planning, we are embedding a drought plan facilitator into each of these regions.
“The facilitators will support their communities and industries to develop their plans and strengthen their leadership and governance skills to better prepare for future droughts.”
Ms Thomas said the Farm Business Resilience program would complement a range of existing programs and services delivered to the agriculture sector.
“The $9.85 million Regional Drought Resilience Planning program supports partnerships of regional organisations, councils, communities and farmers to develop regional drought resilience plans,” Mr Littleproud said.
“The plans will identify how to manage through droughts, finding ways to build resilience across agricultural sectors and allied industries,” Mr Littleproud said.
Planning will be community-led and owned. It will bring regional knowledge and perspectives, along with the best available evidence and data.
Ms Thomas said the delivery program included partnering with Dairy Australia and the Gardiner Foundation, who had similar programs available to farmers, to provide drought resilience training across the sector.
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