The Dwindling Workforce of Agriculture: The Philippines’ Next Big Problem
The Philippines has been known for its rich agricultural heritage, serving as one of the pillars of crop production and export in Southeast Asia. Through the International Rice Research Institute, the Philippines taught its ASEAN neighbors how to plant rice, being an expert in the 1960s. However, since then, the country failed to keep up with the times — evident by its constant need for imports to manage surging prices and sustain the needs of its people. In September 2023, the Philippines was ranked as the world’s top rice importer, overtaking China (Fenol, 2023).
In recent years, there has been a concerning decrease of workforce in the Philippines’ agricultural sector. In October of 2020, the combined employment in the agriculture sector, which includes agriculture, forestry, fishing, and aquaculture, accounted for 24.5 percent (9.7 million) of the total workforce (Baclig, 2022). By October of 2021, this figure slightly increased to 24.6 percent (10.77 million). However, in the same month of the current year, it experienced a decline, now representing 22.5 percent (10.60 million) of total employment (Baclig, 2022). By 2022, the industry lost 511,000 workers, having 9.73 million in July 2022 to 9.22 million by October 2022 (Baclig, 2023). The Philippine Statistics Authority has noted that the agriculture industry, year by year, experiences the largest drop in employment (Baclig, 2023). This significant decrease in workforce poses significant threats to the country’s already weak food security system and agricultural development. It is important to identify the root causes of this decline in order to set solutions that will aid in the employability of the sector.
The Dwindling Workforce:
The agricultural sector has been a long time livelihood for many Filipinos. It accounts for 8.9% of the GDP, providing jobs for millions of people — contributing to the nation’s economy and development. It is important to note that these statistics compare far less to neighboring Southeast Asian countries, with Vietnam’s accounting for 11.88% and Indonesia accounting for 12.4% (Statista, 2023). The contribution of the agricultural industry to the country’s GDP has shown continuous decline over the years; this can be attributed to decline in the number of individuals choosing to pursue careers in agriculture among others.
This shift can be attributed to several factors:
Urban Migration: One of the primary drivers behind the declining agricultural workforce is the steady migration of young Filipinos from rural areas to urban centers. Shifting the career path to corporate opportunities that promise higher pay and comfortable work conditions.
Diminishing Farm Size: During plenary deliberations on the 2023 budget of the Department of Agriculture, Senators Raffy Tulfo and Cynthia Villar had a heated exchange over the conversion of farmlands into residential or commercial areas. This is because of the Villar Estate’s constant habit of procuring farm land to develop into residential housing.
Declining Incomes in Agriculture: Based on statistics garnered from 2021, a regular farmer in the Philippines earns P285.19 a day. This figure is well below the minimum wage set in the country, which is P369 for agriculture and P390 for non agricultural work.
Aging Workforce: The aging demographic of the agricultural workforce presents a significant challenge. Filipino farmer’s average age is 55–59 years old. Experts predict the Philippines will face a critical shortage of farmers in 10 to 12 years.
Technological Lag: The Philippines has failed to integrate technology when it comes to farming. This hindered productivity and made farming inefficiency & less appealing to the younger generation.
Lack of Education and Training: Insufficient educational and training programs focused on modern agricultural practices have left aspiring farmers ill-equipped to adapt to the evolving demands of the industry.
Capital:. A potent source of labor productivity increase is mechanization, which entails capital investments. However, capital formation in agriculture has been limited. Formal finance has disproportionately flowed outside of agriculture, precluding adequate finance of both fixed and working capital requirements. An estimated 62 percent of small farmers and fisherfolk who incur debt are able to borrow from formal sources (Galang 2020). Conversely, 38 percent do not.
Climate Change: The Philippines is listed among the countries highly vulnerable to climate change (Amnesty International UK, 2021). Natural calamities including El Nino, La Nina and Typhoons are the top reasons for crop destruction and wastage for most farmers in the country.
What Can We Do?
It is crucial for the government to review the country’s policies on agriculture. The country’s lack of competitiveness in the local and national market, poverty among farmers and dependence on imports are problems brought upon by factors that have spiraled down to bigger issues. If addressed, there may be promise for growth and the sector may observe an increase in employability. The allotted budget for agriculture for 2024 is P197.84 billion. It is important to allocate this budget to programs oriented to boost the sector’s long-term growth.
The following recommendations can be considered:
Policy Reform: The department of agriculture may reorient its programs and policies that promote performance-based planning, management, monitoring, and accountability measures within its standard operating procedures (Briones, 2021). These restructuring measures and additional management programs aim to boost employee productivity and morale, which in turn, causes a ripple effect when it comes to the stakeholders they manage.
Maximize Public Spending: The agricultural sector received one of the highest budgets for 2024. According to Briones,it can be assumed that no other sector can muster this much support from the government budget (Briones, 2021). The Department of Agriculture (DA) received the largest budget, followed by the National Irrigation Administration, Here are the programs or equipment the department may allocate it funds to:
Inter-agency Collaboration: There is a need to improve collaboration between national agencies that handle agricultural, trade or food-related products. From a budgeting standpoint, these agencies may work together and pool their budgets in order to create more significant and bigger projects. For example, the Department of Agriculture may partner up with the Department of Trade and Industry or the Department of the Interior and Local Government to create a bustling market hub for the farmers to sell their products. Aside from this, they may also partner up with the Department of Public Works and Highways to plan out the construction of roads in agricultural hotspots that do not have access to it. Lastly, they may also collaborate with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources or the Philippines Risk Reduction Management Center to discuss risk mitigation when it comes to natural calamities. The department may also coordinate with smaller organizations of councils which include the local government, regional development councils etc.
Regulatory Council and Crop Insurance Sourcing: The government must allot resources to find credible companies willing to provide bank assistance, financial loans and insurance to farmers in the country. The regulatory council will act as an entity that will ensure that the farmers will be provided these traditional and innovative means of receiving financial services. Given that most farmers rely on loan sharks to procure capital, it is important to provide a better avenue for them to procure funds for their crops.
Infrastructure: Even in these modern times, most Filipino farmers rely on manual labor to conduct their operations. According to Llanto (2012), poor rural infrastructure is a contributor to low agricultural productivity. Utilization of technology must be prioritized to ensure growth in the sector. The government must provide means for farmers to easily procure and pay for new equipment for farming. This can be done by forming partnerships with farming machine companies and providing a pay plan.
Education: The government must mandate state universities and government funded colleges and universities to develop a course geared towards agricultural careers. The goal is to provide free college education to those who need it, with their choices for courses including agriculture. Aside from this, working farmers may also benefit from attending trainees, workshops and conventions about modern day farming. This will gear them up and potentially encourage them to try more sophisticated production systems and value-adding activities.
Conclusion:
The labor shortage in agriculture is a reality we are facing. Analyzing the data available, the Philippines agricultural workforce has shown linear decline since the start of the 20th century. Despite constant government efforts to skew this, more should be done to. A country’s agricultural industry and sector employability will only thrive if the government gives enough support to all stakeholders involved. The root cause of the problems in the agricultural sector of the country can only be addressed through significant but calculated moves. An aggressive and immediate response is needed, today. The farmers need support, it is imperative that this is provided.
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