The AGCO Agriculture Foundation (AAF), a private foundation with the vision to prevent and relieve hunger through sustainable agriculture development, donates a USD 100,000 grant to The Country Trust to support the expansion of the farm discovery programme in the UK.
The Country Trust is the leading national education charity connecting disadvantaged children with the land that sustains the population through food, farming and countryside experiences. In 2022, 20,000 children from disadvantaged communities visited a working farm with The Country Trust.
The grant will enhance the growth of the farm discovery programme and enable thousands of children from disadvantaged areas to explore working farms and discover a connection with the land.
“Supporting our youth’s connection to farming and agriculture requires us to sow the seeds of inspiration and embrace new knowledge through farm visits, cultivating a sustainable future for our world,” said Roger Batkin, Chair of the AGCO Agriculture Foundation. “Driven by our farmer-focused solutions to sustainably feed the world, AGCO and the AGCO Agriculture Foundation remain committed to supporting the next generation to understand agriculture and food production from farm to table.”
The on-farm experience will teach students about climate change, soil health, crop production, agricultural technology, food nutrition and other essential agricultural-related topics.
“We are facing significant environmental, health and educational challenges, the impacts of which fall disproportionately on the poorest in our society, and the need for our work has never been greater. We urgently need to enable the next generation to forge a strong connection with the land, our life support system and to help them acquire the knowledge and skills that will enable them to thrive and contribute to a growing population,” said Jill Attenborough, CEO of The Country Trust.
The Foundation funding will also provide up to 70 teachers with access to resources and digital activities to sustain the impact of the farm discovery programme.
About the Country Trust
The Country Trust is the UK’s leading national educational charity connecting children in England and Wales from areas of high social and economic disadvantage with the land that sustains us all. Last year the charity connected over 55,000 children to the land, through immersive visits to working farms, curriculum-linked Farm Boxes, residential visits to the countryside and yearlong Food Discovery programmes and a new soil health campaign – Plant Your Pants. For more information, click below.
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