Victorian farmers under pressure as severe drought persists across parts of the state
Victoria’s southwest is experiencing severe drought conditions, with about 90 per cent of the region now in unseasonably dry conditions, according to Dr Sara Hely, Director of the Victorian Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub.
Speaking on Sky News Australia, Dr Hely explained that these challenging conditions have persisted for months, and in some areas, even years.
While Australian farmers are known for their resilience in the face of extreme climates, the current uncertainty is proving particularly difficult.
“The hardest thing about these current conditions is uncertainty,” she told Sky News Australia.
“When you’re expecting to see rainfall, and it doesn’t, and that happens over a period of months and years. That makes it really difficult to plan.
“That is something that we really focus on in the Hub is more around preparedness and building resilience in preparation for dry conditions, but at the moment, there’s a level of uncertainty that some of these communities haven’t seen before.”
