SAMI chairman Ian Zadow said while Exceptional Circumstances packages helped provide short-term relief, a more long-term solution was needed.

Mr Zadow said some irrigators needed to borrow money to buy water and to stay in business.

"We're getting to the point now where permanent planters are probably getting to the end of their 16 per cent allocation," he said.

SAMI has also called on producers of annual crops to consider leasing their water, to help irrigators trying to save their permanent plantings.

The latest Murray-Darling Basin Commission drought update has confirmed more bad news for water availability.

Chief executive Dr Wendy Craik said the two-monthly update reported that rainfall and inflows over August and September, while better than last year, had still been among the lowest ever and that the outlook for the next few months was not good.