The NFU has launched a new educational initiative called Farming STEMterprise which takes children through each stage of a farm business start-up.
Primary schoolchildren will go through the process of setting up their own farm shop business through the initiative.
Farming STEMterprise builds on this work by taking children through each stage of setting up a farming business, from growing their own ingredients and using market research to test ideas, to calculating expected profit and designing responsible packaging.
So far over 200 teachers from around the country have been trained by the NFU education team to deliver the work in primary schools.
The initiative follows the NFU’s Farmvention competition which saw over a thousand schools take part, designing and creating their own farming products using Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).
NFU President Minette Batters said: “STEM is a crucially important part of a child’s development and sparking interest in these subjects from an early age can lead to exciting opportunities as they grow up.
“We have always known that Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths are deeply embedded in the farming industry. The NFU’s education work has proved that teaching these subjects through an agricultural lens can provide a new and exciting learning environment, all while helping children reconnect with food, farming and the countryside.”
She added: “It’s been great to see so many teachers getting excited about delivering Farming STEMterprise in their own classrooms and we can’t wait to hear the response from their pupils.”
The Farming STEMterprise tour will continue throughout 2019.
