By: Higino Alindogan Ables Jr.
Dwindling enrollment
Why do less college students nowadays enroll in agriculture?
College and university executives have asked me what to do in the face of smaller enrollments in agriculture, fisheries and forestry.
I always tell them (1) not to despair as this is a universal trend in higher education, experienced earlier by advanced economies, and (2) this presents an opportunity for such colleges to change gears and do something more useful.
In American universities, the college of agriculture has tremendously shrunk in size and has given way to newer colleges.
One good example is the Michigan Agricultural College (established in 1855) which has grown into a multiversity, the Michigan State University. Its college of agriculture is one of the smallest on campus.
In Canada, the Ontario Agricultural College has become the nucleus of the University of Guelph, and its agriculture departments have been transformed into new units.
In England, the Wye College has been closed down.
In Malaysia, what used to be the Agricultural University of Malaysia (Universiti Pertanian Malaysia) is now called Universiti Putra Malaysia, and its emphasis redirected towards information sciences and computer technology.
Projected unemployment
In the Philippines, two reasons are cited as having caused lower enrollments: scarcity of government jobs in agriculture, and board exams regulating the practice of agriculture, fisheries and forestry (The Forestry board came much earlier than the other two.).
But no data is available to prove that board exams affected enrollment.
That the downtrend is here to stay was shown by a very recent nationwide study of agriculture graduates released in 2011.
The study was sponsored by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) and coordinated by the Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS).
The major conclusion is that the rate of unemployment of agriculture (including forestry and fisheries) graduates are expected to rise and will go up to 30% by the year 2020.
This confirms a UPLB study conducted in the 1960s that made the same conclusion: that from thereon demand for agriculture graduates was bound to decline. This has been corroborated by still another UPLB study done in the 1980s.
The previous studies prompted the DECS (before the CHED was established) to institute in the 1980s a ladder-type course to develop farmers (self-employed graduates) in scientific agriculture: a two-year diploma course and a bachelor’s degree program in agricultural technology (DAT-BAT).
However, the products of the DAT-BAT program did not fulfill the purpose for which they were trained.
Most of the graduates did not work on the farm as intended because they did not have any land to farm, and if they did, they would have displaced the farm workers already there.
Where did they go? Generally, the DAT-BAT graduates got employed but not in farming.
So unlike the situation in the 1950s when graduates of UP Los Baños pioneered in the agricultural development of Mindanao and became prosperous entrepreneurs.
Options for ag colleges
1. Joint programs
The question remains: what can colleges of agriculture, forestry and fisheries do?
One alternative is for these colleges to link up with other colleges within the university to offer joint interdisciplinary programs.
Examples of such programs are: agricultural chemistry, agribusiness management, agricultural engineering and technology, agricultural journalism, and landscape architecture.
2. Extension work
Another alternative is for these colleges to devote more time to extension/training activities.
The agriculture teachers can be assigned to do training and extension work to backstop the technicians hired by the local government units.
This can be done in partnership with the agricultural extension personnel of the local government units.
Short courses of the non-degree type can be conducted by agricultural schools probably with sponsorship by LGUs using the development fund.
By doing these, the agricultural schools and colleges in the provinces can help improve farm practices and consequently boost farm production, and bring about rural development.
How can we best counsel students intending to pursue degree programs in agriculture, forestry and fisheries?
This is a question for the LGUs.
Since the agricultural services of government have been devolved to them, the LGUs should be in a position to determine how many graduates they as well as local industries can expect to hire in their respective localities.
Needless to say, LGUs can be an effective partner of the CHED, the TESDA and the DepEd in manpower development.
Need for researchers
But there is yet another brand of agriculture graduates that this country needs.
Right now, there is a lack of agricultural scientists who can replace those who retire, die or move out.
Scientists are needed in the various disciplines that make up agriculture, notably in chemistry, plant pathology, entomology, food technology, horticulture, genetics and biotechnology, and parallel disciplines in fisheries, animal sciences and forestry.
The list of study areas in the agricultural sciences is so extensive and the need for scientists in any of these fields is still great.
Our neighboring countries are beefing up their strength in the sciences by sending thousands of scholars abroad, to Europe and the United States.
This demonstrates that these countries consider science worthy of government attention, as it scientific and technological strength determines economic power in this highly competitive world.
But here in the Philippines, we see that U.P. Los Baños is losing its scientists faster than it can hire replacements.
The situation needs intervention and we are hopeful that this will come soon.
Because research is intellectually demanding, our high schools should realize that they have the responsibility of streaming the best and the brightest students into careers in the scientific and technological fields.
And where should such students who are academically prepared and are so inclined go to study if they are interested in the agricultural sciences?
The premier research institution for the sciences related to agriculture, forestry is UPLB.
Either UP Visayas in Iloilo or the Marine Science Institute in UP Diliman would be top choices for fisheries.
Three other agricultural research universities were developed and strengthened in the 1980s with funds coming from a World Bank loan.
These are: Central Mindanao University (Musuan, Bukidnon), Visayas State University (Baybay, Leyte), and Central Luzon State University (Muñoz, Nueva Ecija). CLSU has a strong program in aquaculture too.
Summing up
In this discussion, we have shown the universal trend of dwindling enrollments and rising unemployment in agriculture, fisheries and forestry, and posed the need for technicians and extension training at the local level.
As options for ag colleges, we have suggested interdisciplinary programs, and partnerships in extension work with local government units.
We have also recommended encouraging the talented students to pursue research careers in agricultural sciences as they are our best hopes for bringing about discoveries and inventions in science and technology.
To keep that food coming to the dining table to feed a growing population, agriculture (including forestry and fisheries) should get the attention and support it deserves.#
Dr. Ables, a former dean of the BUCAF in Guinobatan, and ex-vice-chancellor for academic affairs of UPLB, now resides in Sorsogon City. Email: sosogon@yahoo.com
(Also published in Sorsogon Today 17 August 2011.)
