Throwback: Drought Resilience 2025 Conference Highlights the Urgent Need to Advance Protected Cropping Knowledge

Held from 9–11 July in Geelong, Victoria, the Drought Resilience 2025 Conference brought together experts from across Australia’s science, health, law, business, technology, humanities, and arts sectors, as well as Indigenous knowledge holders, to explore collaborative approaches to building drought resilience.

A standout moment was the presentation by Professor David A. Fleming-Muñoz from the La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF). His research, “The Costs of Drought in Australia: A Regional Evaluation of Economic Impacts Using Time Series Analysis and a Synthetic Control Methodology,” highlighted the significant economic toll drought imposes on regional economies. He emphasized the urgent need for solutions, particularly as droughts become more frequent and severe under a changing climate. One such solution is protected cropping, a method that uses controlled environments to reduce climate-related variability and provide greater certainty for the agri-food sector.

Over the next five years, the PC Hub is committed to addressing current research and training gaps through an integrated, industry-focused strategy to build resilience. By doing so, the PC Hub aims to help mitigate the impacts of drought and other climate-related events, while supporting the next generation of agricultural innovation.

Stay tuned for updates on our research, industry collaborations, and opportunities to engage with the PC Hub.
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