The Southern NSW Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga will receive part of a $20 million funding boost to expand the Hub’s drought remit and drive innovation.

Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia the Hon. David Littleproud announced this week that the nation’s eight hubs will share in the funding to investigate broader agricultural innovation activities that will lead to uptake of innovation by producers, stimulate collaboration and increase commercialisation.

The Southern NSW Innovation Hub was established at Charles Sturt in Wagga Wagga in April 2021 and has already received an additional $2.5 million in funding in October 2021 as it shifted its focus to becoming an Innovation Hub.

Executive Director of the Southern NSW Innovation Hub Ms Cindy Cassidy said this additional funding will provide scope for the Hub to work with farmers and agriculturally-focussed communities on a range of opportunities to improve profitability and sustainability.

“The establishment of the regional Innovation Hubs represents a step change in the way we think about and undertake research, development and extension to support the adoption of productive, profitable and sustainable practices on farms and in our regional communities,” she said.

“The Southern NSW Innovation Hub is a partnership led by Charles Sturt University, with a focus on linking the people of our region with the tools, technologies and systems that they need to make the most of the good times and respond effectively to hard times, like drought.”

Mr Littleproud said conditions in Australia are incredibly diverse and a one-size-fits-all approach does not work for farmers.

He intends for the funding to allow each of the hubs to focus on solutions that will benefit their regions.

“These hubs are a game-changer for regional Australia, enabling farmers to work together with experts to come up with new solutions that will work for their regions,” Mr Littleproud said.

“Each hub has its own focus, and will be able to adapt to the climate, soil and conditions of each region.

“This is helping farmers and communities adopt a long-term perspective on drought by giving them the innovative tools and techniques to build drought-resilient businesses.

“The additional funding creates new opportunities to provide solutions to a broader set of challenges in our regions.”