Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Colting: Enrollment in BS Agriculture dwindling By Rogelio Colting R4D Corner
ENROLLMENT for the Bachelor of Science in Agriculture is starting to dwindle in some SUCs (state universities and colleges) in the country.
In Baguio State University (BSU), College of Agriculture Dean Macario Cadatal once expressed gratitude that Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (BSA) enrollment in BSU is still relatively high compared to other schools that have decreasing enrollment even if they offer free tuition.
From 2003 to 2008, BSA enrollment in BSU never registered below 1,000 enrollees although in school year 2007-2008, the lowest number of enrollees was noted at 1,066.
But why should students take up BSA anyway? During these times of food insecurity, we need agriculturist more than ever. We need farmers who understand the science and art of growing crops or raising livestock in a sustainable manner.
Moreover, opportunities in the agriculture industry are expanding involving food processing, international food trades. Agribusiness ventures such as contract growing of high value crops for niche markets and precision agriculture.
It cannot be overemphasized that farmers are responsible for ensuring food security so they are the key players to our existence. They are the backbone of the nation so they say. In Benguet, many farmers are in fact silent millionaires.
Furthermore, BSA graduates can land other agriculture related jobs. They can serve as extension workers, laboratory technicians, media practitioners, researchers or research managers, and agricultural technocrats like Director William Dar, director general of International Crops Research Institute for Semi-arid Tropics (Icrisat) and Dr. Silvestre Kudan, anchorperson of BSU on the air program at DZWT.
In Pearl Buck's book called "The Good Earth," a farmer who is the main character said a family begins to fall when it starts to sell its land.
Let's take that to a larger scale with a deeper meaning. A nation will start to fall when it FORGETS the land.
