A DECREASE in the number of students from Cebu City pursuing agriculture-related degrees has caused concern for a local legislator, prompting him to propose an ordinance providing scholarships.
City Councilor Pastor “Jun” Alcover Jr. authored the measure titled, “An ordinance granting educational scholarship assistance to qualified Cebu City residents pursuing agriculture-related academic degrees and providing funds.”
The proposed ordinance was discussed by the council during its regular session on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, during which the legislators learned that there are only five students enrolled in agriculture programs at the Cebu Technological University’s campus in Bonbon, a mountain barangay in Cebu City.
“The primary aim of crafting the ordinance is to incentivize young people to pursue agricultural degrees by offering additional benefits such as board and lodging, full tuition, and transportation allowances,” Alcover said.
However, some of Alcover’s fellow councilors were not sold out to his proposed ordinance.
Redundancy
Councilor Phillip Zafra, chairman of the committee on peace and order, said there is an existing ordinance pertaining to food security, which is City Ordinance 2618, otherwise known as “Food Security Ordinance of the City
of Cebu.”
Zafra said the ordinance, which he authored, was approved on June 23, 2021.
Section 6 of the City Ordinance 2618 provides scholarship grants related to agriculture and fishery courses to all Cebuano students, and mandates the City Scholarship Committee to allocate not less than 20 percent of the total budget for the scholarship program.
“We already have a law, but the administration has not yet implemented the existing law,” Zafra said.
Councilor Mary Ann delos Santos asked Zafra if he was saying that Alcover’s proposed ordinance, if it is approved by the council, would be a redundancy to the existing ordinance. Zafra said “yes.”
Alcover replied that his proposed ordinance is more comprehensive and specific compared to the existing ordinance as it is related to scholarship programs for agricultural students.
Support
City Department of Agriculture Joelito Baclayon, one of the resource speakers, supported Alcover’s proposed ordinance as Cebu City has ample farmland, especially in the upland villages.
Baclayon said Alcover’s measure, if passed into law, could attract potential agricultural students. He suggested expanding the scholarship’s scope to include courses involving veterinary and food security programs.
Judy Concepcion Yap, Cebu City Scholarship program executive director, also spoke during the discussions. She said there is a decline in the number of students taking up agriculture due to lack of interest despite the scholarships provided by the City, adding that poverty and distance from school are among the other reasons.
Yap said only CTU-Bonbon offers agriculture-related programs; next is CTU’s campus in Barili town, southwestern Cebu.
‘Real problems’
City Councilor Joy Young said the problem lies not in education—whether the youth will choose to take agriculture courses or not—but in the difficulties being faced by the farmers, including a lack of irrigation.
Zafra added that there are farmers who lack advanced machinery for farming.
Both councilors said these problems should be addressed first rather than focusing on giving incentives to students who may not ultimately choose careers in agriculture.
Young pointed out that children of farmers are reluctant to pursue farming as a career due to the challenges their parents face daily. These children, he said, often prefer office jobs over farming.
“If I were the child of a farmer, seeing my parents still poor, why would I become a farmer?” Young said.
Dying farming industry
Alcover said the farming industry is dying due to lack of support from the government, saying a comprehensive approach in supporting farmers should be done, which include teaching farmers agri-business and building post-harvest facilities.
Alcover said once the students would finish agriculture, they would be the one to teach the next generation of farmers.
Regarding the decrease in the number of agriculture students, ex-officio Councilor Rhea Mae Jakosalem said there should be a continuous monitoring of students.
Meanwhile, City Councilor Nestor Archival said the degrees being offered should align with what the students want, saying that some students might take up a four-year degree program in agriculture but end up working in another field.
During the session, representatives from the Cebu City’s Farmers Federation and Alliance of Cebu City Farmers Association expressed positivity in the proposed ordinance, saying it would help the farming industry.
Both representatives shared the same sentiments that most farmers’ ages range from 50 above and no farmers are 40 below.
They also said that they need more modern machinery for farming.