AS the country commemorates Labor Day, AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee urged the national government to ‘continue investing heavily’ in agriculture to help farmers.
“Maraming kailangang gawin upang maayos ang agrikultura. But all these measures point to one thing—that the government needs to continue investing heavily to make the sector vibrant.”
“With improved agriculture, we also improve the livelihood of our farmers and other producers and help them escape the cycle of poverty,” Lee said.
The lawmaker noted that urgent action is needed to help farmers and fisherfolk, who continue to belong to the poorest sectors of society, have a better quality of life.
According to the 2021 poverty statistics released by the Philippine Statistics Authority, fisherfolk had the highest poverty incidence of 30.6 percent, followed by farmers with 30 percent.
The lawmaker said the challenge remains for the government to revitalize agriculture through modernization, which would shift employment towards higher-value jobs like equipment operators and others that utilize technology.
Government must also seek ways to entice the younger generation to pursue farming to address an impending shortage of farmers.
Former agriculture secretary William Dar in 2021 warned of a “critical” shortage of farmers in 12 years, citing a 2020 study by retired University of the Philippines anthropology professor Florencia Palis, showing that the average age of Filipino farmers is 53—up from 46 in 1966. The same study also said that these farmers have been working on the farm for 25 years.
The study, “Aging Filipino Rice Farmers and Their Aspirations for Their Children”, also noted that farmers are actively discouraging their children from working in agriculture.
“We have to show that we are undertaking serious and sincere efforts to improve agriculture, so that the youth will not see it as a ‘dead-end job’,” Lee said.
“Kailangan nating pakatandaan na nakakabit ang pag-unlad ng bansa sa agrikultura. Kung maayos ang agrikultura, Winner Tayo Lahat,” he added.
