Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia, the Hon David Littleproud MP
Tasmanian Minister for Primary Industries and Water, Guy Barnett MP
Two Future Drought Fund programs, the Farm Business Resilience (FBR) and Regional Drought Resilience Planning (RDRP) will be extended to 2024 in Tasmania.
Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia David Littleproud said the programs are kicking off across Tasmania and this extension will ensure Tasmanian farming communities can continue to build resilience to future droughts.
"The FBR program provides practical support to build the skills of farmers to plan for and manage their farm business through inevitable future droughts," Minister Littleproud said.
"Nationally, the FBR program has already supported over 1060 farmers, through more than 1600 learning sessions and other events. In Tasmania, tailored support for farmers is about to get underway.
"This extension will allow us to reach more Tasmanian farmers across a range of industries.
"The RDRP program aims to get regional drought resilience plans in place across all agricultural regions in Australia. The Plans will set out strategies and actions to be better prepared for future droughts.
"Three Tasmania regions that cover the whole state are already part of the program - the North, South and North West. This extension allows planning to be completed across Tasmania and provide small grants to start the work on implementation in those regions.
"We're extending our commitment to these programs in Tasmania to create a lasting impact for Tasmanian farmers and their communities."
This extension will be supported with investment of up to $6.1 million, funded jointly from the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund and the Tasmanian Government.
Tasmanian Minister for Primary Industries and Water Guy Barnett said there would be extensive engagement, led by local government, with rural organisations and farming communities to help inform the three regional plans.
"The planning will build on existing Tasmanian climate variability planning and leverage the work underway by our Tasmanian Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, another initiative under the Future Drought Fund," Minister Barnett said.
"This program will give farming communities the practical skills and knowledge to help them drought proof their properties and help us reach our goal to grow the annual farm gate value of the state's agriculture to $10 billion by 2050."
The Australian Government is working with every state and territory to deliver the foundational year of the FBR and RDRP programs, with more extensions to be announced as details are settled.
For more details visit https://www.awe.gov.au/agriculture-land/farm-food-drought/drought/future-drought-fund
Fast Facts:
- The Australian Government has committed $116.82 million to 2024 to help farmers and regions plan for drought.
- The Farm Business Resilience and Regional Drought Resilience Planning programs are delivered in partnership with each state and territory government.
- Tasmanian Government will partner with the Australian Government to extend the Future Drought Fund Regional Drought Resilience Planning and Farm Business Resilience programs to 2024.
- The Regional Drought Resilience plans identify how to prepare for, and manage through, future droughts. Once plans are developed, small grants are available for participating regions to take forward priority actions.
- The Farm Business Resilience program builds the skills of farmers to plan for and manage their farm business through times of drought. The program provides access to subsidised learning and development opportunities and support to develop a farm business plan.
