AS the bridge between city and country folk gets wider Guy Coleman is determined to reconnect the consumer and the farmer.
Witnessing first hand the severe lack of communication between the two parties, Mr Coleman developed an online platform, AgriEducate, to capitalise on existing online communication platforms to educate and connect everyone on a more personal level.
"Observing these issues of live export, genetically modified organisms, pesticides, livestock handling, foreign investment from both sides led me to believe that the inherent conflict, adversity and generalisations arose from a severe lack of communication between the two parties," he said.
"I can tweet directly to thousands of farmers around WA and Australia in moments, and boy do they love Twitter - the same goes for users in the city.
"That is why I developed AgriEducate - to educate urban and rural people, break down distance barriers and play a part in ensuring the Australian agricultural industry is sustainable on an environmental, social and economic level."
Mr Coleman's passion for farming grew at a young age.
After being assured a place in postgraduate medicine, he decided to study an agriculture undergraduate degree.
He graduated with a science degree, majoring in agricultural science and anatomy and human biology from the University of WA, and is studying agricultural technology in Sydney.
"Social media is a marvellous thing," he said.
"The ability to break down distance barriers and engage groups of people is fantastic.
"We are aiming to capitalise on the widespread usage of Twitter to reduce the agri-urban gap.
"We are aiming to develop an active farmer base to answer questions on the production system as a whole, straight from the consumer to the grower.
"Our other programs are in development as we look to encourage everyone to get involved with the Australian agricultural industry."
The platform gives consumers access to connect quickly with a farmer who best suits their question and AgriEducate mediates the discussion and posts answers on the page for everyone to see.
Since taking the agricultural pathway, Mr Coleman has also dedicated AgriEducate to encourage students to take up careers in agriculture and change the stereotype that an ag science degree was "studying to be a farmer".
"The ag industry is such an encompassing and diverse field and unfortunately people don't see this," he said.
"My own experience of a drastic career change from medicine to agriculture was a major driver in getting the message out there."
He said he had been contacted by agricultural students from around the world asking why he had decided to focus on agriculture.
"Some are from farming backgrounds, some from the city and some from both,'' he said.
"Hopefully their input will demonstrate the diverse backgrounds, possibilities and global opportunities within the industry."
Mr Coleman hopes to get more farmers involved on Twitter and students to share their stories on why they chose agriculture.
More information: visit www.agrieducate.com.au or @AgriEducate on Twitter.