The dwindling number of young farmers, as well as the lack of support for government agricultural programs that are already in place, have prompted a non-government organization to seek the establishment of agriculture schools in all towns.
In a letter to the House of Representatives headed by Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Jerry L. Pelayo, president of the Agricultural Growth through the Inclusivity and Leadership by the Private Sector for Accelerated Modernization or AGILA, said the establishment of such schools will “energize modernize and industrialize the agriculture industry.”
In his letter, Pelayo, former mayor of Candaba, Pampanga, said Congress can pass a bill requiring state agricultural universities to establish extension campuses in all towns.
He said the establishment of these extension campuses will entail partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Commission on Higher Education, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of Agriculture.
“The goal of this program is to help educate farmers on new agriculture technologies, financial literacy and possible opportunities in the agriculture indistry,” Pelayo said.
He sought a dialogue with agencies that are concerned with agruculture “to further discuss or initiate moves to help improve the situation of the agriculture sector.”
In a recent summit, the group identified several problems bessettig the agriculture sector, such as (1) aging farmers and fishers; (2) climate change; (3) high cost of production; (3) market chain in the Philippines seems to be long which reduces farmer profit; (4) research outputs not properly downloaded to end users leading to lack of transfer of technologies; (5) government progams are in place but needs more people support in their implementation to attain sustainability with a mechanism for needed subsidies and other forms of assistance when required; (6) and a need to review further the policies and regulations on importation to control the oversupply in the market.
Pelayo noted that because of the poor economic situation of farmers and fishermen, their children prefer to migrate to cities to find better-paying jobs.
He said he believes Congress has a big role in the eventual implementation of AGILA’s proposal.