Review of Perceptions of Agriculture in Primary School Students and opportunities for developments

More people live in urban centres rather than rural areas, and this will increase to 2/3rds of the world’s population by 2050. This contributes to an ever-growing disconnect between primary producers of agricultural products and its consumers.

The challenge for agriculture is to engage the population to facilitate a better understanding of what it does, and help it to feed a growing population, while protecting biodiversity and reducing agricultures effects on climate change.

To change perceptions, positive experiences must be introduced from a young age and repeated regularly. The school system offers the best opportunity to reach a wide audience of young people. There is the opportunity to incorporate agricultural examples into the teaching of other subjects.

Using creativity and new technologies can ensure engagement and a positive perception of agriculture in children’s minds, while also facilitating the development of critical thinking from a young age.