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During election campaigns you don't often hear political leaders agree on anything. But there is one idea that Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd both say they'll work on - in different ways, if they win the election. They both reckon farming could have a much bigger future in the North of Australia. As Sarah finds out, the great northern food bowl is an old idea that's still causing controversy.

KIDS: Wheat!
KIDS: Barley
KIDS: Corn
KIDS: Carob!
KIDS: Oranges
KIDS: Apples

A lot of different food is grown in Australia. In fact, if you can think of a fruit, a vegetable, a grain, a bean or pulse there's probably a farmer out there who's producing it.

KIDS: Broccoli
KIDS: Bananas
KIDS: Rice
KIDS: Tomatoes
KIDS: Potatoes
KIDS: Lentils

With populations booming in countries near Australia there's a growing demand for the stuff we grow. And some reckon we should be growing even more.

KID: So how would we do that?

Good question.

Australia's a big country with lots of land for farming but water is another issue. At the moment around 40 percent of our food is grown in the Murray-Darling Basin, using water from the country's biggest rivers. It's known as the country's food bowl.

But watering all these crops is already taking a toll on the rivers and in dry years farmers and the environment suffer. There is a part of Australia that's much, much wetter. The North of Australia lies in the tropics so it has a monsoon season and in summer it rains and rains and rains and rains.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Way to ruin your picnic! But where some see soggy sandwiches, others see opportunity.

Both of Australia's possible PM's say when they're elected they'll spend money on trying to boost agriculture in the North. It's not a new idea. For decades Aussies have dreamed of turning the northern deserts into fertile farm land where all sorts of crops could be grown and sent off to Asia. There have been some attempts but it's never really taken off.

REPORTER: The trouble is while the north get heaps of rain in summer most of it runs pretty quickly out to sea. And in the hot dry season a lot of water in dams and lakes evaporates.

Then there's the soil. It's ancient and delicate and doesn't have a lot of the nutrients you need to grow food. And in the tropics there are more pests and diseases which can affect crops.

Back in 2007 the Government put together a team to look into the idea of a northern food bowl. Their report back wasn't promising. It said that the north could only support a little bit more agriculture, not a big farming boom.

So what's changed since then? Well some say nothing. But the Government and the Opposition both say that with the right investment, the right sort of technology and the right crops the northern food bowl could become a reality. And some people reckon we need to try, to make sure there's enough food around in the future.

But there are worries about how farming in the north could affect the environment. There are all sorts of plants and animals and whole ecosystems that aren't found anywhere else in the world. Some say more farming would put that at risk.

Some reckon there are better places to look for a food bowl; like temperate Tasmania with its water supplies and cool climate. And some think we should just be smarter about the way we use the farming land that we already have: Finding the right crops for the right farms and continuing to grow great Australian food.

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During election campaigns you don't often hear political leaders agree on anything. But there is one idea that Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd both say they'll work on - in different ways, if they win the election. They both reckon farming could have a much bigger future in the North of Australia.

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Education resources for schools teachers and students - ABC Education

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ABC Education has 4000+ educational games, videos and teaching resources for schools and students. Free Primary and Secondary resources covering history, science, English, maths and more

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When you munch on an apple or dive into a tin of peaches, do you ever think of where they came from? Many Australian farmers make their living from growing and selling fruit and veggies. But in the past few years they've been struggling to compete with cheaper food from overseas. Sarah meets a Victorian family who are finding it tough on the land.

PARNEET: I'm Parneet, and this is my sister Sukhneet, this is my cousin Savreen and my younger brother Maan and we live on a fruit orchard in Merrigum.

Growing up here in Victoria's Goulburn Valley is pretty good, according to these guys. There's heaps of space, fresh country air, and then there's the fruit which this part of the country is famous for.

PARNEET: A variety of fruits; apples plums, apricots, pears, peaches and some people grow vegetables like we used to.

This is an ad for SPC which stands for the Shepparton Preserving Company. Since 1917 it's been preserving all sorts of Goulburn Valley fruit and veg and selling it both in Australia and overseas. Except lately business at SPC isn't going too well.

REPORTER: You get an idea of why if you have a look on the supermarket shelves. Here's a can of Goulburn Valley pears for $5.40 or you can buy pears that were grown and canned in South Africa for just over $2.

There are a few reasons for that. Workers in Australia are paid more than in some overseas companies which makes processing the fruit more expensive. Then there's the high value of the Aussie dollar it's made overseas imports cheaper for Aussie shoppers. But it's having a devastating on farmers like the Singhs.

PARNEET: We've cut down our trees because people aren't buying them because there's been cheaper fruit coming in from overseas.

SPC isn't buying as much fruit as it used to from Goulburn Valley farmers. This year it only bought half as many pears as usual. These types of pear are grown especially for cans and with no-one to buy them they were left to rot on the trees. That can spread pests and diseases and the farmers need their land so they had no choice but to cut them down.

JIMMY SINGH: It is really, really sad. Really sad. You can see how healthy these trees are and they'll grow beautiful fruit but unfortunately you can't sell it.

Around the Goulburn Valley thousands of trees have been ripped out

SUKHNEET: If you listen really closely the person that cut down all these trees they're helping lots of other people cut them down as well.

They'll clear this land and plant different types of fruit that will hopefully sell better. But it will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Farmers aren't the only ones who are suffering. In the past 4 years around 10 Aussie fruit and vegetable processing factories have closed down and many people have lost their jobs.

Whole communities are being affected. The Government and other groups are trying to find ways to help. They're offering some farmers cheap loans to help them plant new crops. They're also looking whether they can make overseas imports more expensive by adding a special kind of tax, called a tariff. And farmers groups have asked supermarkets to help stock their shelves with more Australian grown products.

SUKHNEET: They could buy some of the people whose orchards are being cut down they could buy some of their fruit so they will get their property back and they can grow their orchard and trees again.

In the Goulburn Valley and around the country growers are hoping that things get better soon. So in the future Aussie kids will still be able to enjoy Aussie fruit.

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economics and finance:industry:food and beverage

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When you munch on an apple or dive into a tin of peaches, do you ever think of where they came from? Many Australian farmers make their living from growing and selling fruit and veggies. But in the past few years they've been struggling to compete with cheaper food from overseas.

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Education resources for schools teachers and students - ABC Education

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ABC Education has 5000+ educational games, videos and teaching resources for schools and students. Free Primary and Secondary resources covering history, science, English, maths and more

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From animals to sports, find out how you can match your passion with STEM and build your dream career.

The Careers with STEM Job Kits are 8-page deep dives into individual STEM careers. Download them free!

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Australia's top FREE student STEM careers guides - computer science careers guide, science, maths & engineering careers guides: tips, inspiration and paths.

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Activities and discussion worksheets to accompany the My Digital Career video series.

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Danielle Feinberg: The magic ingredient that brings Pixar movies to life

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Danielle Feinberg, Pixar's director of photography, creates stories with soul and wonder using math, science and code. Go behind the scenes of Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Brave, WALL-E and more, and discover how Pixar interweaves art and science to create fantastic worlds where the things you imagine can become real.

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Thomas Suarez: A 12-year-old app developer

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Most 12-year-olds love playing videogames -- but Thomas Suarez taught himself how to create them. After developing iPhone apps like "Bustin Jeiber," a whack-a-mole game, he is now using his skills to help other kids become developers.