Children must become more aware of their impact on the environment, starting with their schools, Deputy Agriculture Minister Bheki Cele said on Monday.

"We need to encourage our children to examine their impact on waste, climate change, water and biodiversity on the school as its own ecosystem, and also on a global scale," Cele said at the sixth biennial national land care conference in Durban.

"Youth groups must undertake an environmental management plan of their schools seriously."

Cele also emphasised the need for participation by women and young people in farming and land care.

He said the conference had created a programme called "juniorcare", focused on young farmers.

"This programme seeks to raise awareness [among] the youth in developing a sense of responsibility to the natural resources and biodiversity," said Cele.

The contribution of young people in land care was vital for the sustainability of natural resources for future generations, he said.

"We will spare no effort to promote agriculture as a profession so that young people can see it as an attractive and worthwhile career to pursue.

"We have to ensure that while we benefit from the natural resources at present, we conserve them and ensure that the future generations will still have access to adequate resources for their own benefit."