U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday announced the award of 5.3 million U.S. dollars of Conservation Innovation Grants to develop approaches and technology that will help farmers and ranchers build resilience to drought.

"USDA is working diligently to help American farmers and ranchers rebound from last year's drought and prepare for future times of climatic extremes," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.

"Conservation Innovation Grants are an excellent way to invest in new technology and approaches that will help our farmers, ranchers and rural communities be more resilient in the future," he added.

The grants will address drought-related issues, such as grazing management, warm season forage systems, irrigation strategies and innovative cropping systems, the USDA said.

There is growing concern that the historic drought of 2012 may persist through 2013. As of Feb. 26, over 54 percent of the United States continued to be in drought conditions, compared to 39 percent at the same time last year, according to the U.S. National Climatic Data Center.