Irrigators in southern New South Wales have started a social media campaign to build awareness of local food production and irrigation issues.

Some Murray Valley growers say government policies are restricting their access to water for irrigation, and they want people to know about it.

So they have launched the Speak Up campaign, which invites producers to build online relationships with consumers by sharing personal stories of growing food with irrigation water on social media platforms.

Shelley Scoullar – a Deniliquin rice farmer and secretary of West Berriquin Irrigators – launched the initiative this month.

She says general security irrigators in the district lack a water allocation, even though the Dartmouth Dam is at over 70 per cent capacity and Hume Dam is 40 per cent full.

“What we really want to be able to do is trade or lease with the (Commonwealth) Environmental Water Holder the water they've got in surplus so we can use it for productive use,” she told ABC reporters. 

“Let's finish off these crops.”

Irrigators have also met with the NSW Member for Murray Adrian Piccoli to highlight their concerns.