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We at the SW WA Hub are looking forward to the months ahead, with major new projects being rolled out that are aimed squarely at improving the drought resilience of local farmers and their communities.
Collaboration has been key to the success of a number of these projects getting off the ground, and the SW WA Hub has played a pivotal role by bringing together people and organisations to maximise opportunities for success.
One of the biggest of the new projects is the new $4 million ‘WaterSmart Dams’ initiative which will be of interest to every farmer with a dam. Scroll down for more information.
Four other WA projects have also received Future Drought Fund funding, including through the Drought Resilience Innovation Grants program. Details of successful recipients are on the Australian Government website.
We also look forward to the imminent appointment of a local Regional Soil Coordinator, as part of a national $3 million Australian Government initiative that will deliver practical assistance to farmers.
Read on for more SW WA Hub news and please feel free to forward this monthly newsletter to colleagues, friends or clients.
Making dams work again? That’s damn smart
Researchers and farmers are set to join forces to find ways of drought-proofing WA’s 200,000 Wheatbelt dams – to help meet the needs of modern farming enterprises.
The GGA and the SW WA Hub have welcomed $3 million in Australian Government funding and $1 million in State Government funding for the collaborative project ‘WaterSmart Dams – Making dams work again’.
Grants to build community drought resilience
WA regional communities will share in $3.1 million for 60 national projects that will help prepare for drought under the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund Networks to Build Drought Resilience program.
The 60 national grants ranged from $10,000 to $150,000 to support community projects to build local drought resilience.
Join ‘lunch and learn’ webinar series
As part of the Drought Resilience Leaders Program, the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF) is hosting an eight-part ‘lunch and learn’ webinar series which explores what it takes to make Australian rural communities drought and climate change resilient and ready to take on the future.
Participate in panel discussions with regional leaders and industry professionals and learn from real-life case studies from across the country.
Free of charge, the webinar series is open to all, and past webinars are recorded. The next webinar on April 21 is titled ‘Innovation and adaptation – how agtech solves problems on the ground’.
Learn about Fund to build drought resilience
The $5 billion Future Drought (FDF) is providing secure, continuous funding for drought resilience initiatives and will help Australian farms and communities prepare for the impacts of drought.
From July 2020, $100 million is being made available each year to support Australian farmers and communities to prepare for and become more resilient to the effects of future drought. This will:
- Make agriculture more productive and profitable
- Enhance the wellbeing of our farming communities
- Improve the sustainability and resilience of the natural resources on which agriculture depends.
To receive regular email updates directly from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, subscribe via the ‘Have your say’ webpage.
