THE Department of Agriculture (DA) 7 has urged the educational sector to integrate agribusiness in the curriculum to encourage the young generation to go into farming.
DA 7 Regional Director Salvador Diputado said they fully support initiatives that can cultivate the love of farming among students.
“It will teach the students not only the production process in farming but also how to market their produce,” he told SunStar Cebu.
He said agribusiness will be incorporated to the curriculum which is also one of the major solutions they are looking into to address the pressing concern of aging farmers.
“What we emphasized today is not just farming but business in farming. Meaning, our farmers are not ordinary ones; they are also businessmen. One way of achieving that, is by tapping teenagers because that’s our response to the aging population of farmers,” he said.
In its official Facebook page, DA 7 recently announced its formal partnership with the University of San Carlos’ College of Business Administration to include agribusiness entrepreneurship as part of the university’s BS Entrepreneurship degree program.
“The agribusiness and marketing assistance division with the technical personnel of DA 7 will prepare the package of module for this offering to start by the opening of the semester this year,” it said.
With this partnership Diputado is confident other colleges and universities will follow suit and offer courses related to agriculture and business.
“That’s what we are re-orienting. If we could also encourage the love of agriculture to the culture of the young ones,” he said.
This move would also address the current situation of farmers affected by the implementation of the Rice Tarrification Law.
The law lifts import restrictions on rice, a measure that the government hopes will make the food staple more affordable for Filipinos
Diputado said this would help farmers to remain relevant amid the global competition in the rice industry.
“We should teach the farmers how to market their goods. Not only in planting seeds and harvesting the crops but also how to market it, so they will have control over their resources,” he said.