Revilla warns of shortage of farmers in 15 years, bats for Magna Carta of Young Farmers

Published November 16, 2020 10:46 AM By DONA MAGSINO, GMA News

A bill seeking to encourage young Filipinos to venture into the agriculture industry to address the ageing population of farmers in the country has been filed in the Senate.

Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. filed Senate Bill No. 1422 or the proposed Magna Carta of Young Farmers establishing mechanisms for the promotion and protection of the rights of young farmers.

The senator said the average age of Filipino farmers is 57 years old and that the country may face a "critical shortage" of farmers in just 15 years.

"We remain an agricultural country and importation of agricultural products should be minimized," he said in a statement Monday.

"Through appropriate education and training, coupled with sufficient support for
technology, credit and capital, the new generation of creative and innovative millennials will become active agents of achieving our goals for food production and sustainability," he added.

A young farmer is an individual aged 15 to 35 years old whose primary source of income comes from agriculture and is an owner, tenant, lessee, or worker of the land in which they personally cultivate and till, according to the proposed law.

The bill seeks to help young farmers and fisherfolk maximize modern technologies in marketing their produce through technology transfer, and to institutionalize their representation in different decision-making and agricultural policy-making bodies initiated by the government and private sector.

It also exempts young farmers from paying the donor's tax, provided that the agricultural lot they would inherit from their parents will continue to be cultivated for farming for at least five years.

Two similar measures are pending at the committee level in the House of Representatives.—AOL, GMA News

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