THE Federal Government must think twice before making radical changes to drought support, says ANDREW WEIDEMANN

Federal Agriculture Minister Tony Burke should stop and think before he removes the Exceptional Circumstances support mechanism.

He needs to realise much of Australian agriculture is still suffering the effects of lingering drought, coupled with production uncertainty and poor commodity prices.

The EC package has supported the people who need it most and should be retained until conditions improve, to give the industry time to consolidate.

If the EC is to be reformed, then whatever replaces it should at the very least allow for income support measures, which provide basic household needs and can be assessed easily through Centrelink.

For a large number, if not the majority, of Victorian grain producers, the events of the past two months - the vagaries of the weather - have sapped an enormous amount of spirit.

It is important that people can regain the confidence to plant this season's crop.

State and Federal Governments need to be aware that our sector is at risk of failing and people need to see the Government has some compassion.

At this point in Australia's agricultural history we need to be proactive with government.

We need to receive a practical and proactive response from government, or our industry and the rural communities that depend on it will fail to survive in the long term.

Droughts are a part of the risk of farming, but today's producer now has enormous costs associated with producing food.

With so much cost for - in some cases - little return, there needs to be some form of certainty about things we can do to mitigate the production risk we face.

Certainly I believe the longer term approach should be to support a range of self-help mechanisms, including multi-peril insurance to cover the enormous costs associated with farming enterprises.

Any insurance should be underwritten by the Federal Government, in a way that is similar to the Canadian system.

Governments must also support a range of tax-incentive measures, to encourage farmers to drought-proof their farms through such things as on-farm storage, stock containment areas and most importantly, a far greater investment in education, particularly research and development.

The very notion that the Federal Government is considering scrapping its contribution towards agricultural research and development is fraught with danger.

Research has been shown during the past run of poor years to be the one area that has helped us to survive despite the poor seasons.

Education has also been particularly important in keeping confidence up within the farming sector.

The recently announced changes to education allowances for young people will now mean a far greater disincentive for our youngest and brightest country students to enter the education system.

At the end of the day, all we ask for is some fairness.

Other privatised industries receive a great deal of support from the Federal Government, whereas our current structure has seen us unable to properly promote the produce we want to export to world markets, further eroding the value of our bottom line and the communities we live in.