Who Are The First Ones To Recommend Their Children To Not Become Farmers? Farmers!
That is a major finding of UP Los Baños lady researcher
Florencia G Palis in her study “Aging Filipino Rice Farmers and Their
Aspirations for Their Children” (June 2020, Philippine
Journal of Science, Science & Technology Information Institute).
Son of a farmer, that is not
news to me, but it’s still dismaying.
Miss Palis found the farmer fathers would rather have their
children study and apply for jobs in the cities or work abroad. That was 65% of
her respondents; only 35% wanted their children to be like them, farmers.
In her paper, Miss Palis said, as reported by Dhel Nazario,
“Farmers Not Keen On Children Following In Their Footsteps – Study[1]”
(23 July 2020, Manila Bulletin):
The risk associated
with rice farming as a means of livelihood further discourages parent farmers
to aspire for their children to be like them. The uncertaint(ies) in yield and
income (are) real to them and they attribute (those) to unpredictable weather
situations, unstable output price and input costs, and natural disasters like
heavy rains, floods, and drought, including pest and disease infestations.
As a farmer’s son, and an Agriculturist, I can explain those
uncertainties in yield and income.
Most likely those farmers are still using their own varietal selections, so
they cannot expect higher yields. Or when they transplant the rice seedlings,
it’s helter-skelter – how do you expect good growth from the seedlings you did
not value much by giving them improper distancing (should be 25 x 25 cm) and
planting 2 or 3 seedlings per hill (should be only 1 single seedling per hill,
following the technique called System of Rice Intensification, SRI)!
Aling Tasya said, “My waist and back are painful, especially
during and after transplanting the rice seedlings. I need to bear these pains
so that I can provide some food for my family.” Aling Tasya, if you did the
SRI, you would have enjoyed your transplanting of rice! SRI would also double your
yield, even treble it – ask your local farm technician about it!
Miss Palis also pointed out:
With high input costs,
they are forced to borrow money from informal lenders who charge them
high-interest rates, or traders who require them to sell their produce
immediately at a low (price) after harvest.
Aling Tasya, what’s causing your poverty are those people
taking advantage of people when they
need money!
Miss Palis says, “There is a need to pay attention to rural
services for agricultural extension including hassle-free and practical
mechanisms of providing capital to farmers.”
Don’t forget cooperatives!
Now, madam, if you have been browsing Facebook, during these
months of lockdown, you will have known of Secretary of Agriculture William
Dar’s “The New Thinking for Agriculture” – and the current national efforts, led
by him, to help farmers financially and mechanically by providing farm
machines.
These
are the worst of times,
and these are the best of times!@517
[1]https://mb.com.ph/2020/07/23/farmers-not-keen-on-children-following-in-their-footsteps-study/?fbclid=IwAR0BvetY0buXJzzglTxT3tAmdVHRuSu4CeP1JxRAdvNhTC0R5tRuUXN1oA4
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