Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced $38 million in funding to aid various drought preparedness programs.

The six-year initiative, titled “Long-term Trials of Drought Resilient Farming Practices Grants,” was announced in front of the Bush Summit in Tamworth today.

The six successful funding recipients range from universities to research centres, all aiming to help best prepare farmers for drought.

The money will help fund research for drought-resistant crops, super soils and how to improve drought resilience of broadacre grains.

Albanese outlined just how important this money is for farmers to prepare them for future Australian summers.

“Being prepared for drought is not just good for farmers, it’s also important for rural and regional communities, supermarket consumers and Australia’s trade industry,” he said.

The funding will be taken from the $5 billion Future Drought Fund as a part of the government’s efforts in helping farmers fight drought and climate change.

Australia’s most impactful drought, the millennium drought of 1997 to 2009, created conditions ripe for bushfires, dust storms and land degradation in regional Australia.

The drought had widespread effects with salinity reaching record levels, impacting ecosystems and damaging water supplies for communities and their farmland.

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Murray Watt echoed the importance of these programs.

“This program is about advancing projects that we hope will make a real difference in a future droughts.”

Photo: Drought by Ian Sanderson available HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This image has not been modified.