The Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub will set out to find innovative ways to prepare farmers and rural communities for drought.
While based in Dookie it will be partnered with five nodes in Birchip, Mulwala, Warragul, Inverleigh and Mildura.
Speaking at the launch at Dookie on Wednesday, Federal Member for Nicholls Damian Drum said the key to the hub would be getting "ahead in the game.”
“All governments, whether it be local, state or federal or farming groups run around trying to find some sort of miracle,” he said.
“How do we actually generate some more water in the middle of a drought, how do we actually generate the growth that we need for the crops and the yields that we want? And of course those answers simply don't exist.
“So it's refreshing that we've got this opportunity to actually act in advance. We're in the midst of the best couple of years we've had on land over the last 20 years.”
Mr Drum said the nodes would cover the rest of Victoria and the southern Riverina by bringing the best research possible.
“ . . . and effectively turn that research and development into hard cold information for our farmers so that they can adapt their farming practices to be more resilient come the next drought.”
Dookie hub co-director Tim Reeves said there would be five farming groups, four universities and Agriculture Victoria working together as one team to enhance drought tolerance.
Prof Reeves said through consultation the hubs could deliver its top priorities.
“Each one of the organisations we've got in the drought hub has got its own tremendous networks. They're trusted organisations so we're not trying to invent something.
“Our hub is also dedicated to effective engagement with our First Nations peoples. We're going to engage with First Nations groups at the local level, the regional level, and at the statewide level.
“This is not about business as usual. If we were going to do the same things as before, why have a new drought hub?
“We're going to strengthen our current approaches and a major theme of the hubs initially is about translation and adoption, the stuff we already know that could be better used out there.
“We'll be developing new approaches; bringing new technologies, new things that we haven't seen before to help our farmers, our land managers, our communities.”
The News understands the hub will be operating by the end of May.
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