Too many young Australians don’t understand where their food and clothes come from and the Prime Minister wants to change that.

Scott Morrison will take his electioneering out bush on Saturday to promise nearly $31 million for agricultural show societies and ways to make sure Australian kids are better educated about the food and fibre production chains.

The Coalition is making its pitch to voters in country areas following the backlash in the bush towards the Nationals at the recent NSW state election where the Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party claimed three seats.

Meanwhile the opposition leader Bill Shorten will make his first federal election campaign visit to Tasmania promising $120 million for tourism attractions on the Apple Isle.

A 2011 survey of school students found three-quarters of Year 6 students thought cotton socks came from animals.

Nearly half of the Australian children surveyed didn’t know that bread, cheese and bananas came from farms.

A more recent report from the Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia, which published that survey, said the growing gap between food production and its consumption was leading to increased mistrust about the conditions in which food is produced, as well as difficulty attracting younger generations to farming.

That report found little progress over the past decade in how to enhance school children’s understanding of food production and that teachers do not regularly teach agriculture in mainstream subjects.

The government is hoping a pair of new programs to take city kids to farms and to set up mini farms at 80 city schools will broaden their understanding of what really happens.

As well, grants will be available to agricultural societies to maintain and upgrade ageing showgrounds and Mr Morrison will promise $54.7 million in extra drought assistance measures.

“We’re bringing the country to the city by backing our agricultural shows and education programs that help our children understand how things get from the paddock to their plate,” Mr Morrison told Queensland Country Life.

Scott Morrison is in Dubbo, in western NSW, on Saturday along with his coalition partner Mr McCormack, where they are expected to visit a local country show.

Labor’s focus in Tasmania will be to retain three seats won from the Liberals in 2016 and Mr Shorten is pledging to pump $120 million into key Tasmanian tourist attractions to manage growing visitor numbers and unlock more jobs.

Labor holds the north-west seat of Braddon by a slim 1.7 per cent margin and the unpredictable electorates of Bass and Lyons also turn on a dime.

Hobart’s famous Mona museum would be given $50 million for a new convention centre, library, auditorium and playgrounds and Freycinet National Park would get $10 million under a Labor government.

“Only Labor will provide the investment required to unlock and sustainably manage further growth in the tourism industry so that Tasmanians can continue to benefit from the boost to the economy that this crucial sector brings,” Mr Shorten said.