An extra $519.1 million will go into the Commonwealth's Future Drought Fund to help regional communities ready for dry times as part of the federal budget on May 14.
The fund aims to provide tools for farmers to manage drought on their properties as well as bolster capacity to withstand climate change.
As part of the boost, $235 million will go towards drought resilience programs, while $137.4 million will be channelled into measures to assist producers with business planning and financial literacy.
Trials for new solutions to drought mitigation will also be funded with a further $120.3 million.
The National Farmers’ Federation has welcomed the funding boost.
NFF president David Jochinke said the Future Drought Fund was central to making producers more resilient in the face of current and future droughts.
“Supporting long-term resilience through initiatives and programs like those funded by the FDF has never been more important,” Mr Jochinke said.
“Having been up and running for several years it makes sense to continually review the FDF and ensure we’re making the most of that investment.”
Mr Jochinke was pleased to see the continuation of the Farm Business Resilience Program, a review of the Drought Hubs and more investment in overall monitoring and evaluation of the FDF.
“This is something we’ve called for to ensure we’re seeing tangible outcomes for the sector.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the top-up to the fund would allow communities to better deal with hardship.
"It's vital that we support Australian farmers and producers to be prepared for more severe weather impacts," Mr Albanese said.
"By doing the work now our rural and regional communities are not just reacting to events as they unfold, but will have considered plans to make them more resilient to climate change."
The future drought fund was set up in 2019 to allow the Federal Government to provide grants to programs focused on drought resilience.
The money in the budget comes after a Productivity Commission review into the fund, which recommended a number of programs financed by it be improved.
Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said it was critical for the farming sector to be sustainable.
"We're helping farmers across the country develop business plans to manage diversification in a changing climate, we're helping regional communities manage drought and other climate risks and helping individuals get leadership training and mentoring," Senator Watt said.
"This not only empowers farmers and communities but makes them more self-reliant when drought hits."
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