Push for kids to stay close to food source

City kids will be bussed out to farms on excursions, and ‘mini-farms’ will be set up in urban schools under a Coalition program.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack aims to keep rural agricultural shows viable. Picture: AAP

City kids will be bussed to farms on excursions and “mini-farms” will be set up in urban schools under a Coalition program to combat the rise of “extremist” anti-agriculture campaigns if the Coalition is elected.

Scott Morrison and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said “we won’t allow our kids to be vulnerable to anti-farming campaigns from extremists hell-bent on shutting down ­agriculture”.

“This new program will support primary and secondary school students to visit farms and other primary production worksites in the food and fibre supply chain,” their joint statement said.

The Coalition will also contribute funding to encourage more young people to study agriculture and support “fully integrated and computerised ‘mini-farms’ to teach students about the use of water, land and energy in food production” in 80 city schools.

The Morrison government has sought to gain political mileage out of recent protests by animal rights activists by proposing new jail terms for those who invade rural properties to “free” farm animals headed for slaughter.

The Prime Minister, who has ­denounced the activists as “unAustralian”, has said he would­ ­introduce jail terms against those who used websites to disclose personal information and incite ­others to trespass on farmland.

The two leaders cited a study by the Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia in 2011 to argue that “too many of our young Australians don’t understand where their food comes from”.

Mr McCormack said if elected, the Coalition would also spend $20 million on a “regional agricultural show development grants program” and $720,000 on encouraging these country shows to promote Australian agriculture.

“Right across regional Australia, agricultural shows are delivered by hardworking volunteers, but they are often faced with ageing infrastructure and expensive repair bills, impacting on the quality of the show,” he said.

The programs are part of a ­regional-focused package announced yesterday that includes $57m in drought relief measures.