Farm Education Programme for Schoolchildren Launches in Luxembourg

On Wednesday 20 November 2024, a new farm education project for schoolchildren, "Experience Agriculture" (Landwirtschaft erliewen), launched on the Majerus farm in Wickrange, Reckange-sur-Mess, in south-western Luxembourg.

The project was launched by Luxembourg’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Viticulture, Martine Hansen, and Luxembourg’s Minister of Education, Children and Youth, Claude Meisch. Their respective ministries described the project as offering schoolchildren a sustainable learning and multi-sensorial experience, on the farm and in the fields.

With this educational farm school programme, the aim is to inspire the next generation of young people to get involved in agriculture. 4th-cycle primary schoolchildren will have the opportunity to get to know the profession of farming first-hand and learn about the everyday work of farmers and food production in Luxembourg.

The project was developed in collaboration with "Fro de Bauer", Lëtzebuerger Landjugend a Jongbaueren, the Association for the Promotion of Reception and Educational Farms in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (APFAPL), the Youth Service - Lëtzebuerger Bauerejugend, the Department of Pedagogical and Technological Research and Innovation of the Ministry of Education and with the support of the Luxembourg Chamber of Agriculture.

Pupils will discover the origin of milk, observe livestock in their habitat and learn about the seasonal cycles of fruit and vegetables. Farmers play a central role in this project by explaining their everyday work on their farm to children and teachers. In this way, pupils learn to appreciate the origin and are made aware of the responsible treatment of animals and nature. In the first phase, these optional farm visits are aimed exclusively at classes in cycle 4 of primary school and plan on bringing young people closer to agriculture.

Minister Hansen praised the educational potential of this project, saying: "'Landwirtschaft erliewen' [Experience Agriculture] is a fantastic initiative that allows children to discover the importance and diversity of our agriculture on the ground. By educating our young people about the challenges of food production and the importance of regional products, we are laying the foundations for a collective awareness in favour of sustainable agriculture. This project is thus reweaving the links between our agricultural producers and society and promoting a better understanding of the valuable work that our farmers do. By raising awareness among primary school pupils of the fair value of local, organic and seasonal food, we are implementing an important objective of the coalition agreement."

Minister Meisch emphasised: "School visits to the farm are a valuable addition to the curriculum. They allow pupils to acquire concrete and practical knowledge about the origin of food, agricultural crops and livestock farming, while raising their awareness of the importance of local and sustainable agriculture. They thus meet the ambition of the Ministry of Education to promote a learning offer outside of school and education for sustainable development."

A series of educational games, in the form of a picture puzzle, is also being developed. This will allow teachers to introduce primary school pupils to life on the farm in a narrative framework, and thus prepare them for visits to the farm. The first edition of this game focuses on the dairy cow and can already be ordered for classes in cycles 1 to 4.

The website letzfarm.lu is the contact point between farms and school classes and offers an online booking system for teaching staff. Interested farmers can use a practical checklist in the “For Farms” section to find out whether they meet the requirements to offer schoolchildren a formative learning experience on their farm and can set up and manage their own farm page. In a half-day training course, participants learn how to prepare their farm for a safe visit by schoolchildren. In addition, a voluntary half-day, practical introduction to the practice is available.

Teachers will be able to choose the most suitable farm for educational visits, based on criteria such as location, season and type of agricultural production. They can then send a request to the farmer.

According to Minister Hansen, the "Experience Agriculture" project aims to bring primary schools and farms closer together and raises awareness among schoolchildren about the origin of food. In the medium term, the aim will be to extend farm visits to other cycles of primary education.

(Photo caption (L-R): Martine Hansen, Luxembourg’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Viticulture; Claude Meisch, Luxembourg’s Minister of Education, Children and Youth; credit: MA)