Farmers get $625 million to prepare for climate change and drought

Australian farmers are on the frontline of climate change, with increasingly intense weather events and natural disasters making a normally challenging industry even more challenging. 

Summarising support measures for small business in tonight’s federal budget speech, the Treasurer said the government is investing $625 million to help farmers and rural communities better prepare for the effects of climate change and drought.

This investment is trailed in budget announcements across multiple portfolios, including the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water, and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. 

But the suite of funding measures is not mentioned in the government’s small business statement, so they are not technically a specifically small business measure, even though the vast majority of Australia’s 85,483 agriculture and farming businesses are SMEs. 

Helping farmers and rural communities prepare for the next drought and manage climate risk are key features of the 2024-25 budget’s $519.1 million commitment to the Future Drought Fund (FDF), which acknowledges climate change as a driver of longer and more severe droughts.

“The government is committed to helping farmers and regional communities across the country become more productive and more profitable, while also reducing their emissions,” said Senator Murray Watt, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

Now in its fourth year, the ongoing Future Drought Fund will provide new tools for farmers to mitigate the effect of climate change, including $137.4 million over the next five years to help ag-businesses better plan for the future. 

This investment will fund a range of learning and development opportunities for farmers, including the Farm Business Resilience program; Climate Services for Agriculture program; Drought Resilience Scholarships; and a Scaling Success program. An additional $120.3 million will test and implement innovative farming and land management practices.

The government hopes these new programs will build the knowledge and skills of farmers, advisers and workers, and help regional communities make informed, future-focused decisions in rapidly changing, increasingly warming regional environments on the climate change frontline.

The Future Drought Fund was established in September 2019 to fund initiatives that enhance future drought resilience, preparedness and response across Australia.

To see SmartCompany‘s full budget coverage, click here.

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