It will be a unique statewide partnership to help farmers, agricultural businesses and communities become more resilient to the impacts of future droughts.
The Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub will play a critical role connecting these sectors to innovative technologies and practices.
It will translate research and knowledge into impactful outcomes and support take-up through testing, adoption and scaling-up of new solutions and commercialisation.
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The Victoria Hub has been granted $8 million over the next four years by the Federal Government under the Future Drought Fund, and plans to be operational by the end of April.
It is one of eight drought resilience hubs across Australia.
The other partners in the Victoria Hub are five farming groups:
● Birchip Cropping Group;
● Food and Fibre Gippsland;
● Southern Farming Systems;
● Riverine Plains; and
● The Mallee Regional Innovation Centre.
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They will operate in partnership with Deakin University, Federation University, La Trobe University and Agriculture Victoria.
Hub co-director Professor Tim Reeves, from the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, said this investment would make a real difference to how we deal with future droughts on farms, in the management of our environment, and in our communities.
“This hub brings together a great team focused on delivering real impacts for the agri-food sector in Victoria, in terms of enhanced drought resilience and greater adaptation to our changing climate,’’ Prof Reeves said.
“A feature of this hub is the unprecedented co-operation between the partners to co-design and co-govern innovative approaches to future drought resilience.
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“It bodes well for the team to make a real difference to our regional industries and communities.’’
Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences dean, Professor John Fazakerley, said the hub would serve several purposes
“(It) will demonstrate how organisational collaboration coupled with interdisciplinary research can address the drought-related critical challenges of environmental resilience, food security and economic sustainability,” Prof Fazakerley said.
Professor Ruth Nettle, from the Rural Innovation Group at the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, is also a Hub co-director.
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She said that the location of the Hub recognised the importance of education and research in Dookie.
“Since 1886, Dookie campus has played a key role in the development of agriculture and agricultural teaching and learning in Australia,” Prof Nettle said.
“It continues to be a central point for the key research, teaching and technology development that is helping to shape the future of agriculture.”
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