Agriculture woes: Aging farmers, disinterested youth

TAGBILARAN CITY ,Philippines  — Farmers in Bohol, or perhaps in other parts of the country as well, are now getting older but their young children seem unwilling to take over the farms or to work on it.

This is the disturbing situation that concerned much the farmers of the Hugpong sa Mag-uumang Bol-anon (HUMABOL), an affiliate of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), aired during the annual conference held at the Cogon Cultural Center in this city recently.

Children of farmers are not interested to go on farming, and the situation worsens because their parents are aging, said the HUMABOL statement during the event, which was also participated by non-government organizations, and hundreds of farm leaders from different municipal groups.

The conference was held to tackle the economic and agriculture production in the province, said Danilo Olayvar, secretary-general, who signed the statement.

The statement further reasoned out that these farmers' children were neither inclined nor motivated because of the sad state of farming, the economic situation of old farmers and, worse, the land they toil are not theirs.

The number of youths taking up agriculture or related courses has been diminishing in recent years, the Department of Agriculture noted. This prompted the new administration to woo them into it by offering scholarships and subsidies to study agriculture.

Meanwhile, HUMABOL pushed for the enactment of House Bill 3105 (Rice Industry Development Act), and HB 374 (Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill) so the country can move forward for genuine development.