Expressions of Interest – irrigation incentives extended

Irrigators in the Macalister Irrigation District have extra time to apply for funding for irrigation upgrades under the Irrigation Efficiency Incentives Program.

Agriculture Victoria South East Irrigation Manager Sarah Killury said that the closing date for the current round of the Irrigation Efficiency Incentives Program had been extended to Friday 17 April as there is still some funding available.

“The Irrigation Efficiency Incentives Program has been running for 20 years now and has been highly successful. If irrigation upgrades have been on your to-do list, we suggest you get your application in as soon as possible,” she said.

The MID Irrigation Efficiency Incentives Program is delivered by the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (WGCMA) and Agriculture Victoria and is funded by the Victorian Government’s Sustainable Irrigation Program.

WGCMA Land Programs Coordinator, Mr Anthony Goode, said if the program received more applications than could be funded, a reserve list would be created.

“Obviously we want to support irrigators to upgrade their systems,” Mr Goode said. “If we receive more applications than what we have funding for, our reserve list will be used if and when more irrigation project funding becomes available.”

Eligible projects are allocated on a first come, first serve basis. The sooner irrigators get their applications in, the greater the chance of them being funded.

“By improving irrigation systems farmers find they are able to put their water entitlement to better use. This saves money and water and can help improve farm productivity.”