It's been described as the "worst in living memory" and it is hurting huge areas of regional Australia.

But once we've acknowledged there is a drought, we need to be asking ourselves how we help the nation's food producers survive the tough times.

We know it will rain again and that better times will come. What we don't seem to be quite so clear about is how we support our farmers through the rough patch.

Australia needs its food producers to feed the nation and provide valuable exports, so we cannot afford to let the sector die, but just how to best provide this support seems to be a vexing issue.

Drought assistance is a hodgepodge of state and federal programs, with farmers all too often giving up on trying to navigate the bureaucratic mire that stands between them and a successful application for help.

There are gaping holes in the available assistance and it is charities and community groups that are currently filling the gaps.

These charities are right there, in the drought-stricken communities, talking to people about what help they need. So when an organisation like the Country Women's Association says there is a problem, it's time to listen.

The CWA is not a traditional charity, but it is an advocacy and lobbying group that has been fighting for a better life for rural families for decades.

In these tough times, CWA members have swung into action and started raising money, which is being handed out in $3000 lots to drought-affected families.

This cash is being allocated to help pay household expenses: Those basic, everyday bills that cannot be put off in a drought. You can likely avoid buying a new header, but food, shoes for the kids or the electricity bill cannot be put back until after it rains.

The federal government has so far ignored the CWA's pleas for more funding and it's own version of a cash support scheme, being administered through charity groups, is yet to get off the ground.

It's not good enough and the CWA is right to call out the government's failings.