Children seldom mention agriculture-related careers when they talk about their future dream jobs. Studies reveal that the youth’s disinterest is mainly because of their perception that farming is unprofitable, that there are so many risks tied to it, and that it is a difficult back-breaking job.
This is a global phenomenon.
Data from the International Labor Organization showed a decreasing trend of youth involvement in agriculture. In 1988, 48.9% of employed youth worked in agriculture. This dipped to 33.8% in 2006, and in 2017, agriculture disappeared from the list of growing sectors for the youth.
On the bright side, youth-in-agriculture enthusiasts are still hopeful that there are varied ways to rekindle the young people’s love for farming, either as skillful farmers or as agriculture professionals. The reason is many young people are still involved in farm activities, directly or indirectly.
In recent years, several initiatives have been waged to serve this purpose.
Public and private entities introduced youth scholarship grants, awards and recognitions, and organizations. One of the most recent initiatives is the DA-PhilRice Infomediary Campaign.
What is it
This was implemented from 2012 to 2019. A youth engagement initiative that mobilized high school students to serve as infomediaries (information mediators) of rice production technologies to farmers in rural rice-farming communities
How it’s done
Partner-schools, specifically their teachers were trained at DA-PhilRice, and were also introduced to Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs).
Either the teachers gave lectures to the students about rice production, or the students searched the information through the DA-PhilRice Text Center, Pinoy Rice Knowledge Bank, or the reading materials that the Institute provided for their school; finally, the students were to share the information to their farmer-parents or other farmers they know.
Other activities such as quiz bee, jingle-making contests, rice garden setups, and field days were pursued both for education and entertainment purposes campaign coverage.
A total of 81 out of 108 partner-schools of the Campaign in 2015 were offering technical-vocational courses in agriculture. After the Campaign bowed out in 2019, several of the participating schools still continued the initiative such as Asuncion National High School in Davao del Norte, Batac National High School – Bungon Campus in Ilocos Norte, and Libacao National Forestry Vocational High School in Aklan.
“I enjoyed our farming activities in high school. We planted together, and were very competitive during the Infomediary quiz bee. My experience in rice production during those years have helped me shape my interest and career path in agriculture. I even became an officer of the 4H Club in our barangay (youth organization focused on agriculture). Today, I am an NC II holder in organic agriculture, horticulture, animal production, and food processing. I must say, I am in love with agriculture.”
CARMI KILAYKO
Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat
“My interest in agriculture heightened when our school [Balagtas National Agricultural High] was involved in PhilRice’s Infomediary Campaign. It inspired me to pursue agriculture as a career. Today, I occupy an Agriculturist II position at the Bulacan Provincial Agriculture Office. I know that I can do something so that we can attain sustainable agriculture. Young people like me have actively played their role in sports, entrepreneurship, arts, and culture. It is now time for us to take on a dynamic role in agriculture, to help address matters on food sufficiency and security, climate change, and environment.”
CEFF BASA JR., 25
Balagtas, Bulacan
