Funding Opportunities
With agriculture already one of Australia's biggest industries, and only set to grow in coming decades, government and industry bodies are increasingly making funding available for agricultural education in schools. Check here for regular updates on grant and funding opportunities available to teach these vital skills in your classroom.
Agrifutures Australia
AgriFutures Australia is an organisation focused "on growing the long-term prosperity of Australian rural industries.” Through their Producer Technology Uptake Program, they are providing grants of up to $20,000 (excluding GST) to schools “with a designated agricultural department” to “develop a bespoke activity or project that will build students’ capacity to learn, understand and incorporate technology on-farm.”
Giving students the knowledge and skills required to implement new technologies in agriculture is not only an exciting opportunity for high-tech, hands-on learning, but could provide many career opportunities post-schooling. If your students are interested in not just feeding the world’s people, but doing so in a way which will be gentler on the environment and provide for the growing population, becoming familiar with the new technologies and techniques contributing towards this goal will put them on track for successful and fulfilling careers in these areas.
Secondary School Agriculture Fund
The Victorian Government is creating pathways for students to gain knowledge and skills needed for the future of agriculture with the Secondary Schools Agriculture Fund, a $5.5 million investment delivered by the Department of Education and Training and funded by Agriculture Victoria. Aiming to “meet the growing demands of the agriculture sector,” $4.5 million has been allocated to secondary schools to implement “agriculture education activities that could include designing programs [and] engagement with local industry.”
Farmwall's existing Year 9-10 program is an engaging, hands-on program exploring many different facets of agriculture and sustainability. We are also available to work with your school to develop new programs tailored to your requirements.
Expressions of interest will open for secondary schools on April 26 2022, and close June 24.
Corporate Sponsorship
While grants are one great way to fund agricultural programs in your school, there are other options available. We recognise that not all schools will be able to budget for a supplementary program such as Farmwall, and so are actively working to make the program accessible to as many classrooms as possible.Agriculture is forecast to become Australia's next 100 billion dollar industry, creating many new career opportunities in the food and agri-tech space for the new generations entering the workforce. Our partners want to help create a pipeline for Year 9 and 10 students to grow into this space, through Farmwall.
Corporate sponsorship can also involve time spent volunteering alongside professionals from the partner firm. This will provide students with opportunities for learning and networking, as they begin to consider their future career options.
While we cannot guarantee that a sponsor will be available, we would love to chat to you about your school’s needs and vision.