TACLOBAN CITY -- Leyte farmers are getting older and their farms are getting smaller; the Department of Agriculture (DA) said citing preliminary data gathered through a survey this year.
Result of the National Farmers Registry System (NFRS) showed that 52 percent of farmers in the province are 50 years and above, while 25 percent of the farming workforce are 40 to 49 years old.
Farmers within the 30 to 39 age bracket accounts 17 percent of farm owners and workers. Those in the age of 20 to 29 are only 6 percent while those with age of 20 and younger comprise only 26 percent of the workforce.
“Nearly half or 46 percent of farmers in the province owns a land with an area of only one to three hectares. This confirms projections that a land owned by farmers are getting smaller. This is a result of dividing their properties equally between their heirs,” said DA regional technical director for research and regulations Wilson Cerbito.
Farmers tilling a land with an area of three hectares account only 35 percent of the total number of farm owners. Those cultivating farm with one hectare area and lower is getting a bigger share at 18 percent.
DA Regional Executive Director Antonio Gerundio agreed that agriculture is not drawing the interest of younger generations.
“The best way to make technology work in farms is through the younger generation. If we are going to train these old farmers, it’s hard for them to adopt new technologies considering their educational attainment and their high preference for traditional methods,” Gerundio said.
The official urged state universities and colleges and farmer leaders to show to the youth that there is money in agriculture. “If we can’t motivate them, more of them will lose interest in farming. Adding to uncertainties is the negative impact of climate change.”
Piloted in Leyte province, the NFRS is now 90 percent complete and DA is eyeing to finish the project by December 2011.
The survey, which aims to reach out over 157,000 farmers in Leyte, aims to establish a reliable database of farmers and farm parcels to be used for more effective planning, program design and monitoring of agriculture support services. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)
