Minister says farming will continue as Australia becomes drier

Farming has a future in Australia despite a government report warning that the second driest continent on Earth will experience drought twice as often in the future because of climate change, the agriculture minister said Monday.

Australia is one of the world's largest exporters of farm produce such as wheat and beef despite being the driest continent after Antarctica.

A report by the government's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in collaboration with the Bureau of Meteorology released Sunday found that drought will occur twice as often and become twice as severe within 30 years.