Establishment of Southern NSW Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub

Charles Sturt University was awarded a multimillion dollar grant in 2021 to establish a Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub at the University’s Wagga Wagga campus. The Drought Hub, one of eight established across Australia, consists of a consortium of research providers – including Charles Sturt – working collaboratively to address local drought resilience research and innovation priorities.

The Hub, which focuses its resources on southern NSW, acts as a shopfront for farmers to build capacity and disseminate technology that will facilitate drought resilience outcomes in water management, food security, farming systems, agribusiness, community building, regional development, and the environment.

An online science to practice forum was hosted in 2021, bringing together the Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs for the first time. Representatives from Charles Sturt made a central contribution to the agenda, which shared information about Future Drought Fund programs, other national programs and initiatives such as the National Agricultural Innovation Agenda, and the Research and Adoption Investment Plan.