The Federal Government has allocated $29.9 million to help farmers evaluate and buy crop insurance.

The four-year program is among measures to tackle drought in the Government’s new agriculture white paper, released on Saturday.

“Insurance can significantly reduce the financial risk a farmer faces from production loss,” the paper says.

“As the insurance market in Australia continues to mature, a greater range of commercial products is becoming available. These include multi-peril and parametric insurance products, which are already helping some farmers manage drought and climate risks more broadly.”

The Federal Government will work with states on allocating grants to farmers for crop cover.

Farmers will be eligible for grants up to $2500 on a one-off basis, and will be required to match the funding.

Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce says the grants also cover financial advice, because the range and complexity of crop insurance products is growing.

“The task for a farmer of selecting the insurance products that best meet their needs is not getting easier,” he said.

“The better our farmers can prepare for, manage and recover from adverse conditions such as drought, the stronger the agricultural sector’s contribution to our national economy will be.”