The Australian Government is providing over $878,000 to the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales (RASNSW) for two projects to promote agricultural learning in classrooms.
Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia David Littleproud said the funding would be used to extend the RASNSW's School Farm Days and for a new concept, Ag in a Box.
"Extending School Farm Days will allow these wonderful learning opportunities to be delivered all year round through a monthly program providing hands-on, fun and focused agricultural learning for primary and secondary students," Minister Littleproud said.
"It will also allow for a tailored experience for students with a disability or learning difficulties, making it possible for any student to pursue a broad range of agricultural studies.
School Farm Days give students practical and fun learning experiences, such as meeting farm animals and demonstrations of how technology is used in modern farming systems.
As part of this project RASNSW will develop new resource materials for both students and teachers which will link to the NSW curriculum.
Ag in a Box comprises a package of agricultural materials, sent directly to 800 schools, twice a year, reaching over 50,000 students annually.
Ag in a Box supports the Australian agricultural industry and meets the needs of teachers by aligning with the NSW school curriculum.
"By engaging with primary and secondary school students through School Farm Days and Ag in a Box, we're encouraging them to pursue careers in agriculture," Minister Littleproud said.
As part of this project, RASNSW aims to develop new programs to fill identified gaps which also align with the NSW school curriculum.
All participating schools will carry out surveys to gather both teacher and student feedback to inform future improvements to the program.
The two projects are funded by the Building Landcare Community Capacity (BLCC) Program, part of the Australian Government's $1 billion investment in phase 2 of the National Landcare Program (NLP).
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