Rabobank’s Rabo Community Fund has partnered with the ‘edu-tainment’ brand ‘George the Farmer’ for the fourth consecutive year to celebrate Children’s Book Week. This collaboration aims to educate children about the origins of their food and fibre in a “fun and engaging manner” during Children’s Book Week, which will be held from August 16 to 23.
The specialist food and agribusiness bank – in partnership with George the Farmer – will award 72 educational institutions across Australia with a collection of 14 Australian-made George the Farmer picture storybooks for their libraries.
Rabobank head of community and client engagement Glenn Wealands said George the Farmer’s relatable approach and grassroots appeal “strongly resonates with young readers in rural areas”, while also encouraging urban children to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of agriculture.
Mr Wealands said George the Farmer’s vision of a world where children are connected to the earth, food and farming perfectly aligns with the Rabo Community Fund’s core mission of strengthening urban-rural connections.
“This is now the fourth year Rabobank has partnered with George the Farmer to celebrate Children’s Book Week. Every year, we are inundated with applications from educational institutions nationwide, including primary schools, kindergartens, pre-schools, early learning centres and childcare centres,” he said. “It has been exciting to witness such enthusiastic interest from children, teachers and librarians in learning about farming.”
Since launching the partnership, Rabobank has donated more than 5,700 George the Farmer books to educational institutions across the country.
Mr Wealands said the George the Farmer book sets will help raise awareness about food and fibre production in educational institutions, potentially sparking an interest in agriculture among children and inspiring them to consider careers in this field.
He said the Book Week initiative was part of an ongoing partnership between the Rabo Community Fund and George the Farmer.
George the Farmer began as an interactive story app in 2015 and founder Simone Kain has since expanded the brand to include virtual reality experiences, music, performances and paddock-to-plate videos available on YouTube and ABC iView, alongside free, curriculum-aligned educational resources.
“These free resources, focusing on ‘STEAM’ subjects (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths), involve children in agricultural education through dynamic and interactive methods,” Ms Kain said.
To date, Ms Kain said, over 660,000 children aged four to 10 across Australia have benefited from these free educational resources, covering diverse topics such as apples, chickpeas, wheat, wool, farm safety and dairy. “In a 2024 survey, 100 per cent of George the Farmer users reported that the platform helped children develop a love for reading and learning, while 98 per cent noted an increase in their knowledge about food and fibre,” she said.
Ms Kain said the George the Farmer team, located in regional South Australia, is helping to educate and inspire the next generation – the future leaders, big thinkers, innovators, makers, fixers, creatives, teachers, policy makers and farmers.
“Every year, we receive photos of enthusiastic children dressing up as George and Ruby Farmer for their school Book Week parades. The Rabobank partnership promotes agricultural literacy, which will not only educate many children but also hopefully inspire them to pursue careers in agriculture,” she said.
The competition for the book sets opens on Monday, May 12, and closes on Sunday, June 15, 2025.
Entries can be submitted via the Rabobank website, or the following link –– George The Farmer Book Sets
Terms and conditions are available via the competition link.
Competition winners will be announced prior to Children’s Book Week to ensure books are received by the educational institutions in time for the August event.
The world’s leading specialist food and agribusiness bank, Rabobank is one of Australia’s largest agricultural lenders and a major provider of business and corporate banking services to the country’s food and agribusiness sector.
In 2021, the bank launched the Rabo Community Fund in Australia and New Zealand to invest in the sustainability and vitality of rural communities.
Mr Wealands said as a cooperative, Rabobank has a longstanding history of community engagement and consistently strives to make a positive impact in the rural communities where the bank’s clients live and work.
“The Rabo Community Fund is driven by the bank’s Client Councils, a group of innovative, forward-thinking clients who are passionate about making a difference in their communities and who support initiatives with the goal of making a meaningful impact on the vibrancy and resilience of rural Australia,” he said
For more information or to learn more about the Rabo Community Fund and Rabo Client Councils, visit – Rabo Community Fund | Rabobank Australia
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Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group is a part of the international Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has more than 125 years’ experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank is structured as a cooperative and operates in 38 countries, servicing the needs of more than nine million clients worldwide through a network of more than 1000 offices and branches. Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group is one of Australasia’s leading agricultural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the region’s food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 87 branches throughout Australia and New Zealand.