The Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federations (NASEF) taught students about farming through Minecraft at the World Food Forum (WFF) hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, Italy.

NASEF partnered with the United States Department of State to create a modified version of Minecraft, dubbed Farmcraft, to teach students about new innovations in farming through gaming with the broader goal of connecting play and learning along with showing students farming as a possible career path. Chief Innovation Officer of NASEF Claire LaBeaux said farming in recent years has been more innovative and Farmcraft is looking to provide students with this new knowledge. 

“Our objective is to help kids view what careers they might pursue and then help them sort of get a little sampling of it,” LaBeaux said.

Learning by playing Minecraft

Maurizio Pastore developed Farmcraft for NASEF by designing the gameplay students experience. He said students are given enough money to begin the game where they buy their first plot of land in the rural area and choose a crop to plant.

The plants include fictional crops such as posh plum, ring radish, moon melon, root fruit, dream berry, and bloom bean. The end goal of the game is for students to grow 1,500 of each of the six crops. 

Students then plant their crops and start by watering them. But Pastore said plants dry out, weeds begin to grow and bugs infest plants, which students either need to manage manually or pay up for machines in the game to take care of those problems. 

After the first round Pastore said students harvest then sell their grown crops for money, which they can then use to purchase upgrades in the laboratory for the crops or technology, along with more plots of land, to make more productive farms.

“Farmcraft 2024 is focused on the impact of digital technology on agricultural productivity,” the Farmcraft website states. 

Pastore said the newest version of Farmcraft, or Farmcraft 2024, introduced students to farming in suburban and urban areas. He said students are forced to purchase plots in these areas because certain crops grow the best there. 

Getting kids excited about solving real world problems

Pastore said NASEF and developers tried to make Farmcraft as applicable to the real world as possible.  

A volunteer, who helped run the game at the WFF and wished to remain anonymous because she is not associated with NASEF, showed local middle schoolers how to play the game and educated them about its real world applications.

“Kids are really interested while playing Minecraft because they actually learn and remember things,” the volunteer said. 

The volunteer was present for all four days of the WFF and said people and students have kept coming back to try out Farmcraft. 

“People kept going so there was a line to play,” she said.

LaBeaux said every year NASEF releases a new version of Farmcraft with 2024 being the first year they introduced suburban farms with greenhouses, and urban vertical farms. She said they decided to include these different farms to show students how technology has evolved within farming. 

“Farming today is not what a lot of kids view it as,” LaBeaux said. 

Tapping into a global community

Besides having students play at the WFF, LaBeaux said NASEF takes Farmcraft to other conferences to introduce the game to students. LaBeaux also said many elementary, middle, and high schools have implemented Farmcraft as part of their curriculum. 

“This game is played around the world,” LaBeaux said. 

She said more than 12,000 students from more than 63 countries, including Colombia, Japan, Kenya, and the United States, have played Farmcraft.

LaBeaux also said after students have finished playing Farmcraft at the World Food Forum, they have the option of joining Farmcraft’s virtual programming. She said there are two challenges that students aged eight through 18 years old can join along with virtual exchange programs. 

Students are first challenged with creating a Minecraft world educating others on food transportation in the student’s area. Another challenge is using a custom map created by NASEF to grow crops then ship them to a Desert biome where crops cannot be grown. 

NASEF with Farmcraft also hosts virtual exchange programs connecting students with other students around the world to discuss their different educational and personal experiences. The virtual exchange programs for 2024 will happen on Nov. 12 and Dec. 12. 

“We would love to have them join,” LaBeaux said.