Youth and Agriculture

In recent years, there has been dwindling interest amongst the rural youth, when it comes to agriculture. Departments such as The Cebu City Agriculture Department (CAD) have assessed that younger farmers are becoming increasingly rare, where farmers today in Cebu are mostly between 57-58 years old, with the youngest active farmers are around 35. Comparison and stereotypes in employment are one of the reasons for the decline, with youth refusing to work in the farm because of the low pay and area to work in, and would rather pursue office work employment. Low income, stigma, and lack of support are the main reasons for this disinterest of Rural Youth when it comes to agriculture.

Farmers face economic challenges everyday, which includes the low income that they are paid with. According to a report in 2024 in the Manila Bulletin, it indicates that the average farmer earns just about PHP 301.14 per day. An amount barely enough to meet basic needs in rural communities, which includes the costs of seeds, fertilizers, and equipment, all of which are eating through the paycheck profits. Stigmas and negative perceptions such as agriculture being labeled as “dirty work” and mostly associated with poverty and its perceivable hardships, are what brings a heavy disinterest amongst the youth.

As such, they’ve taken to searching for employment in the form of office jobs or work-at-home jobs. Or students, being discouraged from the topic of agriculture as their future work lives, they end up being discouraged in enrolling in agricultural education programs, to which the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) presents a data which shows a decline in agriculture-related course registrations over the recent years. A critical factor in the many points of disinterest, is the lack of support of the government towards the farmers or agriculture in general. Even if the government did provide support, it either falls short of the amount that’s truly needed or it’s not even the assistance that was needed at all.

Gesta, from Mascardo’s article (2025) about CAD alarmed declining youth interest in farming, states that the department of Cebu City Government allotted only Php 10 million, to which she adds that it falls short of what is needed to deliver meaningful assistance, which goes to show that despite the given assistance, do they truly know what farmers really need? 

In addressing these challenges through better policies and programs, it would create more interest and spread awareness about the many problems being faced by farmers and our agriculture, as it would ensure the safety and probability of a great future for Philippine agriculture.