Labor (Agri To) Statistical Background

LABOR (AGRI to)
STATISTICAL BACKGROUND
Agriculture plays a significant role in the Philippine economy. Involving about 40
percent of Filipino workers, it contributes an average of 20 percent to the Gross Domestic
Product. This output comes mainly from agribusiness, which in turn accounts for about 70
percent of the total agricultural output (CIDA-LGSP, 2003).
The main agricultural enterprise is crop cultivation. Others are chicken broiler
production, including operation of chicken hatcheries (20.4 percent), agricultural services (19.8
percent), and hog farming (18.4 percent) (NSO, 2002).
The general trends in the last two decades present a dim picture of the agriculture sector.
Significant decrease in productivity, high production costs, and low government support to the
sector, among other things, have led to a crisis in Philippine agriculture (CIDA-LGSP, 2003).
The neglect of the agriculture sector and the uneven distribution of resources worsened
the poverty situation in rural areas. Only the remittances of migrant workers to their families
have enabled the latter to survive crippling poverty brought about by stagnant agricultural
productivity, stiff competition from cheaper food imports, and periodic droughts and floods that
devastated crops and livelihoods.
Source: http://www.fao.org/3/ae946e/ae946e03.htm
Agriculture plays an important role in the country’s economy. This is measured as the
value added of the agricultural sector as percent of GDP. According to the World Bank data from
1960 to 2016, the average value for the Philippines during the period was 21.36 percent with a
minimum of 9.65 percent in 2016 and a maximum of 31.06 percent in 1974. This shows a sad
truth that the percent of GDP (value added) contributed from the agriculture sector continues to
decrease. Although people still think of the Philippines as an agricultural economy, strictly
speaking, and based on the data, this is not the case.
SAUCE:https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2018/06/18/1825542/agriculture-dying-philippines
NEWS
Agriculture sector lost 723,000 workers
The share of workers in agricultural
jobs went down to 23.9% in April 2018 from
26.1% in April 2017.
A total of 723,000 Filipinos left
agricultural jobs, leaving some 9.78 million
workers in the sector. (READ: Philippines in
'golden age' of growth – ADB)
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, some 600,000 workers left their jobs
under agriculture, hunting, and forestry. Only around 8.67 million Filipinos are now farmers or
foresters.
Workers engaged in fishing jobs decreased by 135,000.
SOURCE: https://www.rappler.com/nation/204193-employment-philippines-april-2018-chart
Senator Cynthia Villar calls Agriculture Dept “crazy” for doing “too much research”
By Coconuts Manila
While reviewing the department’s budget during a Senate hearing yesterday, Villar was so irked
that she asked in Filipino, “Why does it seem like all your budget goes into research? You’re
crazy over research. What will you do with this research?”
Under the National Corn Program’s proposed 2020 budget, PHP150 million (US$2.9 million)
will be allocated to research, while PHP265 million (US$5 million) will be set aside for calamity
assistance, which Villar also apparently believes to be a waste of money.
“PHP265 million and PHP150 million; imagine, that’s PHP400 million (US$7.7 million)
already,” Villar fumed, adding that if she were a farmer — which she is not, her academic
background is in business — she would prefer to receive seeds and machinery instead.
SOURCE: https://coconuts.co/manila/news/senator-cynthia-villar-calls-agriculture-dept-crazy-
for-doing-too-much-research/
SENTIMENTS
Agriculture is dying. This is a sad reality of the country. Agricultural land is being
developed into industrial areas, shopping malls and subdivisions (Ahem C.V. Ahem). Farmers
are Growing Old and their Children Have Shifted into Other Careers. The agriculture
industry has not progressed in ages. Many of our agricultural schools are producing office-
oriented workers who would much rather do paper work than help improve the agricultural
sector of the country. Not to mention the many horror stories of corruption at the Department of
Agriculture. Even if the Philippines is primarily an agricultural country, we have not done
anything to ‘cultivate’ this sector. In the sixties, we were ahead in Asia. Students from different
countries came here to study agriculture and its technology. Now they are better than us.
Somehow, we fell behind.
SOLUTIONS
Government assistance. The government buys rice from countries like Vietnam and
Thailand since the argument is that the rice there is cheaper. The Government has disregarded
the fact that both countries provide government assistance packages and subsidies to their
farmers, which results to lower prices. This now, leads the Philippines to indirectly supporting
the foreign countries farmers. Another one would be, irrigation or the lack of it. The Philippines
is abundant in rivers, as such has access to large quantities of fresh water. Yet there is no
government effort to install a water control system that would allow for the preservation of water
during the summer months. Also, since the Philippine stands in the path of approximately 25 -30
typhoons a year, there should be a way to capture the water in the uplands (a catch basin for
example) wherein they could be put into good use. There is also a lack of dams in the Philippines
and whatever few they have is shared between the potable supply of the people and for irrigation.
Furthermore, we the citizens of the Philippines should support the workforce that
provides the food we put on our tables by spreading word and correct information about our
slowly deteriorating agriculture to support our local farmers and fishermen, buy products that
were grown on Philippine soil and caught by Filipinos to improve our own economy. Lastly,
vote wisely so that people capable of handling the burden can be bestowed with power to aid the
agricultural sector of the Philippines.

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