De Lima bats for free tertiary agriculture education for indigent farmers' children
Published Aug 12, 2019 10:48 pm
By Hannah Torregoza
Senator Leila de Lima has filed a measure seeking to grant free tertiary agricultural education and other related courses to all dependent children of registered poor farmers in the country.
Senator Leila de Lima
(REUTERS / Romeo Ranoco / MANILA BULLETIN) Senate Bill No. 853, De Lima said primarily grants students whose farmer parents have no visible means of income other than agriculture, free tertiary agricultural education. If passed into law, the senator said this would not only open more opportunities for qualified farmers’ children, but will also encourage them to consider agriculture as their alternative career and prepare them for advanced agricultural jobs. “This bill proposes free tertiary agricultural education to their qualified dependent children n recognition of the indispensable role of farmers in the Philippine economy, and the country’s way of showing gratitude to them for their sacrifices in providing food security for our people,” De Lima said. Citing a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) 2015 Poverty Statistics for Basic Sectors report, De Lima noted that farmers and fishermen and children are the sectors with the highest poverty incidence, among the nine basic sectors identified in the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act or Republic Act No. 8425. She said the poverty incidence for the sector of farmers was recorded at 34.3 percent, consistently registering as one of the three top sectors with the highest poverty incidence in 2006, 2009 and 2012. “Naturally, families of farmers are adversely affected by this economic fallback. As a grim consequence, children of farmers face the risk of not being able to attend school for lack of sufficient funds for their education,” De Lima noted. The senator also lamented how the agricultural sector greatly suffered a major setback in the recent years due to environmental damage, rampant conversion of agricultural land into golf courses and residential subdivisions, and other factors. “Farmers hold a distinct and important role in the country as the main driver of economy. However, it is often ironic that farmers, as food production workers, are the ones suffering from extreme hunger and food insufficiency,” said De Lima. Under the bill, qualified dependent children intending to enroll or who are already enrolled in an agricultural course or any related field offerings in state colleges and universities (SUCs), such as agro-forestry and agricultural engineering, shall be exempt from payment of tuition and other school fees. These dependents shall be entitled to such other incentives or subsidies, including living and transportation allowance, provided they meet the admission requirements of the schools where they intend to enroll in. De Lima said that once enacted into law, it “will accelerate agricultural growth and higher productivity, not just in the countryside, but the whole nation as well,” because there will be more informed citizenry on agriculture.
Senator Leila de Lima(REUTERS / Romeo Ranoco / MANILA BULLETIN) Senate Bill No. 853, De Lima said primarily grants students whose farmer parents have no visible means of income other than agriculture, free tertiary agricultural education. If passed into law, the senator said this would not only open more opportunities for qualified farmers’ children, but will also encourage them to consider agriculture as their alternative career and prepare them for advanced agricultural jobs. “This bill proposes free tertiary agricultural education to their qualified dependent children n recognition of the indispensable role of farmers in the Philippine economy, and the country’s way of showing gratitude to them for their sacrifices in providing food security for our people,” De Lima said. Citing a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) 2015 Poverty Statistics for Basic Sectors report, De Lima noted that farmers and fishermen and children are the sectors with the highest poverty incidence, among the nine basic sectors identified in the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act or Republic Act No. 8425. She said the poverty incidence for the sector of farmers was recorded at 34.3 percent, consistently registering as one of the three top sectors with the highest poverty incidence in 2006, 2009 and 2012. “Naturally, families of farmers are adversely affected by this economic fallback. As a grim consequence, children of farmers face the risk of not being able to attend school for lack of sufficient funds for their education,” De Lima noted. The senator also lamented how the agricultural sector greatly suffered a major setback in the recent years due to environmental damage, rampant conversion of agricultural land into golf courses and residential subdivisions, and other factors. “Farmers hold a distinct and important role in the country as the main driver of economy. However, it is often ironic that farmers, as food production workers, are the ones suffering from extreme hunger and food insufficiency,” said De Lima. Under the bill, qualified dependent children intending to enroll or who are already enrolled in an agricultural course or any related field offerings in state colleges and universities (SUCs), such as agro-forestry and agricultural engineering, shall be exempt from payment of tuition and other school fees. These dependents shall be entitled to such other incentives or subsidies, including living and transportation allowance, provided they meet the admission requirements of the schools where they intend to enroll in. De Lima said that once enacted into law, it “will accelerate agricultural growth and higher productivity, not just in the countryside, but the whole nation as well,” because there will be more informed citizenry on agriculture.