More young residents of the municipality of La Trinidad in Benguet province are being drawn to farming with the help of the different programs and assistance being provided by the local government and the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Nida Organo, municipal agriculture office head in the capital town, said that “According to the PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) data, 57 daw ang average age ng farmers but looking at our data, mas marami na ngayon mga 30 to 40 (years old) kasi marami tayong program for young farmers (PSA data shows that the average age of farmers is 57, but our data shows there are more 30 to 40 years old because we have a lot of programs for young farmers).”

Organo said topping the municipality’s programs for young farmers is the promotion of entrepreneurship for the out-of-school youth, college undergraduates, and even graduates, particularly those who have difficulties finding employment.

Incumbent vice mayor and mayor-elect Roderick Awingan had earlier said he was eyeing local government-funded scholarships for young people in courses such as Bachelor of Science (BS) in Agriculture, BS Agricultural Engineering, Development Communication, and others in partnership with universities.

“We need to let our young people know through information and education campaigns that the vegetable and agriculture industry has a lot of opportunities to offer for them,” Awingan said as he underscored La Trinidad’s thriving vegetable trading industry.

Based on DA records, at least 2 million kilograms of vegetables are traded daily, with a minimum of PHP40 million circulating in the municipality every day.

The thriving vegetable industry has led to the opening of banks, restaurants, and other establishments in the locality.

“The vegetable industry is the goose that lays the golden egg and it is a part of the industry of the municipality, it is a tool of economic activity in the municipality that is why, we need to think of how to sustain it and one of which is bringing in the young people to engage in agricultural production or in agricultural entrepreneurship,” Awingan said.

Lawyer Jennilyn Dawayan, regional director of the DA-Cordillera, said in a separate interview that aside from the 4-H Club administered by the Agricultural Training Institute and composed of young people who are interested in farming, the Young Farmers’ Challenge is also attracting a lot of townsfolk to engage in food production.

“They get capital, and they are innovative. We can see their enthusiasm, especially with more young people joining the annual competition,” she said. (PNA)