DA TO TAP SAMAR YOUTH
IN FARM MECHANISATION
By Manny Piñol
Jipapad, Eastern Samar- The Department of Agriculture (DA) will engage young Samareños, especially agriculture graduates, to operate and manage fleets of machinery and equipment to improve the island’s agriculture.
This was the strategy that I and Regional DA officials led by Acting Director Andrew Orais agreed to adopt in developing agriculture in Samar following a visit to the remote town of Jipapad today.
The involvement of young Samareños, particularly agriculture graduates, appears to be the only hope for this island to develop its agriculture as older farmers here seem to resist innovations in agriculture.
During a consultation with residents of Jipapad whose crops were virtually washed away by floods, I was surprised to hear that the farmers preferred the “Kuliglig” over a modern tractor with plow and rotavator.
They were also inclned to their traditional “Payatak” method of farming marked by very poor land preparation resulting to n very low yields of only 2 metric tons or less.
Under the Mechanisation Program for Young Farmers, the DA will invite the youth of Samar to organise themselves into groups of at least 30 members.
Once organized, they will be trained in operating farm machinery and equipment and on financial literacy.
They will also undergo basic training on rice farming.
After the training, the DA Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) will grant them a loan package for them to be able to acquire machinery and equipment like tractors, planters and harvesters.
The loan will be payable in 8 years with 2% interest per year.
Operating as service providers, they will be tasked to develop farms in their respective towns and will get paid for their farm services.
Since the farm owners will be granted a loan under the Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA), the payment for their services is assured.
This program is expected to fastrack the development of agriculture in Samar and provide jobs to young college graduates.
Samar youth interested to join this program could see Acting Director Andrew Orais at the DA Regional Office in Tacloban City.
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