Schools will be compelled to include “urban agriculture, agricultural entrepreneurship and economy” in their academic curriculum if a lawmaker’s proposed measure becomes a law.
House Bill (HB) No. 2072 aims to mandate the teaching and discussions on agricultural topics to be part of the curriculum of all primary and secondary schools in the country, according to its author, Tarlac Rep. Jaime Cojuangco.
Cojuangco, a representative of Tarlac’s first district, stressed it is high time that students must learn the “more scientific way of farming".
“Let’s be serious about farming. Hindi basta tanim ng tanim lang (This is not about just simply planting)....To know how to make money from tilling the land or to make it an entrepreneurial endeavor,” he said in a statement accompanied by a copy of the bill.
“And finally, to be able to elevate the farming profession to a level that can sustain more than the basic necessities of the farmer’s families,” Cojuangco added.
Under his bill, the Department of Education (DepEd) shall coordinate and consult with various agencies and private institutions in developing the curriculum.
This proposed measure listed the government agencies such as the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Recognizing the importance of agriculture and food security, the bill cited that agriculture still plays a “major role in the Philippine economy".
“It employs about 40 percent of its workers. It contributes about 20 percent to the Gross Domestic Product. Agricultural products continues to be our main export,” Cojuangco noted.
With this, the Tarlac lawmaker emphasized the need to have a “new breed of farmers” equipped with modern agricultural technology so they will be able to “engage in sustained scientific farming to increase farm yields".
“The irony of this statement should not be lost on us. This is because farmers from other countries studied from our specialized agricultural institutions,” he said, referring to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
“They applied their learnings in their home countries, which now enjoy greater agricultural productivity. This is while our own agricultural output continues to be low,” he added.
Cojuangco also said the Philippines must be self-sustaining in agricultural and food production to avert incidence of food crisis.
“The right way of farming means better productivity and food security,” he pointed out.