Barnaby Joyce is pushing to increase the amount of water accessible to drought-stricken farmers, as he takes up a new role in Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s ministry.

Mr Joyce has become a “special envoy” to oversee drought assistance, a key focus for the new Morrison government.

The former deputy prime minister tells Alan Jones we should be utilising the government’s water reserves to help grow more fodder.

“One of the things we should be looking at, and this will be contentious, is we have a huge amount of water in the Commonwealth environmental water holder.

“We should be considering the utilisation of that water to start growing fodder in our southern regions.”

Mr Joyce says fodder needs to be cheaper and easier to access.

“We’ve got hay over in the west, it’s very expensive to move across.

“We have to start looking at the way they bale it and the mechanisms they use.”

Click PLAY below for the full interview