The governments of Canada and Manitoba will be providing support to Agriculture in the Classroom to adjust their educational and outreach resources in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen announced last week.

Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food Marie-Claude Bibeau said, "Connecting Canadian youth with the farming and agri-food industry is more important than ever during these challenging time. This investment will allow Agriculture in the Classroom to help both Manitoba’s teachers and students adapt to new realities as they continue to learn about our innovative agricultural sector.”

Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) brings together industry, government and educators in an effort to increase the public's understanding of agriculture. AITC Manitoba delivers curriculum-based programmes, activities and resources for teachers and their students to learn about agriculture and the role it plays in the province.

Through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, the governments of Canada and Manitoba will be providing AITC-M with up to $146,600 to adopt a new service delivery method to adapt to COVID-19 and an increased demand for digital, online and adapted in-person resources.

“Through this time of uncertainty, [AITC's] vision to educate students about how their food gets from the farm to their table has never wavered, it just needs to happen differently. We believe all students in Manitoba should be agriculturally literate when they graduate. Thanks to the generous support from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership programme, we move closer to this goal as more students will be able to expand and deepen their knowledge of Canadian agriculture,” said Sue Clayton, Executive Director of Agriculture in the Classroom Manitoba.