** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** ARABLE LAND PER PERSON IS PROJECTED TO DECREASE BY TWO-THIRDS OF THE CURRENT AVAILABLE CAPACITY BY 2050. THIS DRASTIC REDUCTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH CLIMATE CHANGE, REDUCTION IN FRESHWATER SUPPLY, AND POPULATION GROWTH. SMART AGRICULTURE (SA) HAS PROVEN TO BE HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE, WATER AND LAND-EFFICIENT, AND PROTECTIVE OF THE ENVIRONMENT. THUS, IT MAY PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN CLIMATE-RESILIENT FOOD PRODUCTION. SA REQUIRES AN AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE THAT HAS THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS TO USE ADVANCED AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES, WHICH NECESSITATES RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING PROGRAMS TO ENSURE A TECH-SAVVY FUTURE WORKFORCE. TO ADDRESS THAT, THIS PROJECT PROPOSES A SAINFORMAL EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING (EL) PROGRAM TO I) EXPOSE AND ATTRACT YOUTH TO SMART AGRICULTURE, II) PROVIDE HANDS-ON EL ON SA, AND III) ALIGN INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS.HERE, WE PROPOSE A MODULAR EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROGRAM WITH FOUR MODULES: INDOOR/OUTDOOR FARMING, SENSORS (IOT) AND SENSOR NETWORKS, DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING, MACHINE LEARNING AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. EACH MODULE WILL BE PRACTICED FOLLOWING EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ACTIVITIES (I.E., ELA 1 TO 4), STARTING BY HAVING A SEMINAR EXPLAINING THE UNDERLYING CONCEPTS AND FUNDAMENTALS ALONG WITH A GUEST SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTING THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE TOPICS (ELA1), FOLLOWED BY COURSE-BASED PROBLEM-SOLVING AND TRAINING IN CLASS (ELA2), FOLLOWED BY REALISTIC HANDS-ON TRAINING (ELA3), OUTDOORS TO PRACTICE WHAT WAS COVERED IN CLASS, AND FINISHED BY INDUSTRY WORKSITE VISITS (ELA4) TO OBSERVE LARGE SCALE PRACTICE OF THE COVERED CONCEPTS. THIS PROJECT WILL FAMILIARIZE 200 MICHIGAN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH DATA SCIENCE AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN AGRICULTURE.