Keystone Agricultural Producers(KAP) is helping organize a Discover Agriculture in the City event this weekend, to teach urban Manitobans about the importance of agriculture.
Discover Ag in the City has been around for nearly two decades but hasn't had an in-person event for a couple of years because of COVID-19. The event returns this Saturday, March 18th from 9-3 at the forks in Winnipeg.
KAP Manager of Communications and Stakeholder Relations, Colin Hornby, says they're working to bridge the gap between rural and urban Manitobans.
"Agriculture is all around us, and it's more than just people that work on the farm. It's HVAC technicians, it's data scientists, it's financial advisors. People aren't necessarily always aware of the role that agriculture plays. We drive eleven billion dollars into the economy every year in this province."
Hornby says that there are 35,000 jobs in Manitoba in Agriculture and that one in eight people in Canada work in agriculture, so it's important that everyone knows about the industry.
"The other part of this is knowing where their food comes from, and the affordable, nutritious, safe food that we have access to in Canada. Not every country has this, and for us, it's right in our own backyard, so we just want people to be aware of how lucky we are, and the role that agriculture plays in their lives, whether they're aware of it or not."
Discover Agriculture in the City is a partnership with a number of industry groups that will have exhibits at the event, with interactive displays like crushing made-in-Manitoba Canola.
