Resource information
The Philippines is basically an agricultural country with about 30 per cent of the total land area of the country cultivated by almost 5 million farmers. However farm area devoted to agriculture has been decreasing due to land conversion. The basic problem is that Filipino farmers do not have the ability to buy their own lands. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program was implemented to address this problem of landlessness thru redistribution of land. Now that CARP is nearly ending, there should be incentives for the young generation to acquire agricultural lands, given that they have the capacity to till them. Credit assistance specifically for land acquisition for new farmers should be considered. The government should make efforts to make the process of land transfer easier and shorter through more efficient and organized procedures.
Another problem is the decreasing number of people engaged in agriculture. Farming as profession has become less attractive to the young and educated people. Average age of farmers is 57 years and average level of education is primary. Most Filipinos do not like to go into agriculture because of the level of difficulty and the supposedly low income being associated with it. Knowledge in agriculture through education ca make farming appealing and encourage the young generation to go into farming. Higher farm productivity, hence, better income will stop people from associating farm-life with poverty. This should be supported with appropriate policies and programs aimed at facilitating farm land acquisition/distribution and increasing farm productivity.
