CEBU CITY, CEBU (PIA) — The Department of Agriculture (DA) Region 7 is encouraging more young individuals to go into farming to help the sustain the country’s agriculture sector.
DA7 officer-in-charge regional executive director Cirilo Namoc said the agriculture department has undertaken strategies to develop interest among young individuals in agriculture.
Speaking during the 4th episode of the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas, Namoc said they are integrating technology in farming to entice young individuals to engage in farming.
“Pananglitan, naa ta’y mga bag-ong pamaagi karon. Pagtanom og humay, pwede na drone. Pag-abuno, pwede na drone. Dili na magbuling-buling ang atong mga batan-on karon,” Namoc said.
(For example, we have new methods now. Planting rice can be done using a drone. Fertilizing can also be done using a drone. Our youth will no longer have anything to complain about.)
He added that DA also supports aspiring students through scholarships for those who want to take up agriculture courses at the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) and in state colleges and universities.
DA is also implementing the Young Farmers Challenge, which offers financial grant assistance to young Filipinos who wish to engage in agri-fishery enterprises.
The grant will serve as initial capital for their intended business endeavor.
“Atong gi-encourage ang kada lungsod nga aduna sila’y young farmer nga moapil sa atong contest ug mahimo ni silang model farmers sa ilahang lugar para sundogon sa uban pang mga batan-on,” said Namoc.
(We encourage the local government units to have their young farmers join the so they can become model farmers in their area for other young people to imitate.)
With the average age of Filipino farmers currently at 57 years old, Namoc said they have recently observed an improvement in the age range of Filipino farmers.
“Inig suroy namo, makakita na sab daghan nga mga batan-on na farmer, buot pasabot naa na’y mga individuals nga ganahan sad mag-farming, kay naa nama’y mga batan-on gyud,” Namoc said.
(When we go around making our field visits, we see many young people who are farmers, which means that there are now more young individuals who like farming.)
DA7 targets to achieve a total of 650,000 farmers and fisherfolks to be registered through the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBA).
As of May 15, the number of registered farmers reached 593,512, which is around 90 percent of DA’s registration goal.
Food sufficiency
Central Visayas is currently at around 28 percent level of sufficiency in rice production.
Namoc assured that DA continues to implement interventions to secure food sufficiency in the region through its projects and programs.
Some of these interventions include boosting hybrid rice seeds and inorganic fertilizer support in the region, which contributed to the 20.91 percent increase of the rice production in 2023.
DA7 facilitated the construction of small-scale irrigation projects that benefitted 909 farmers coming from nine group beneficiaries in Central Visayas.
Their corn program logged a 23 percent increase in production in 2023, which is the highest among the department’s regional field offices.
“For our corn program, we are happy to inform you that our production last year increased by 23 percent, area harvested increased by 2 percent, and our yield increased by 20 percent,” said Namoc.
DA7 also distributed a total of 38 farm machinery units amounting to P42M to 32 group beneficiaries.
Increase production area
Namoc also emphasized the need to increase the production area in the region.
He said there are still a number of potential areas that can be utilized for rice fields.
Central Visayas has around 1.5M hectares of land, of which 925,000 are considered forest, timberland, and built-up areas, while the remaining 525 hectares are considered agricultural land.
Namoc added that DA remains firm in its commitment to build more irrigation facilities to utilize the unused areas in the region.
DA7 was the featured agency for the 4th episode of the “Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas” program, a new platform initiated by the Presidential Communication Office through the Philippine Information Agency.
The activity serves as a platform to enhance public understanding and engagement with the national government’s programs and projects through the different government agencies.
Watch the full episode here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/yyeA23C8rgS9meft/ . (JJT/PIA 7)
