Majority of farmers are aging, with 40 to 45 years of age being considered young, for a farmer. Following this, there is a need for more members of the youth to take part in agriculture. Among the organizations supporting youth farmers is Sacred Heart Savings Cooperative.

SHSC, a multi-purpose cooperative based in Ilocos Sur, joined Jollibee Group Foundation’s Farmer Entrepreneurship Program (FEP) in 2013. As FEP’s local implementing partner, SHSC partnered with local farmers, including the TagudinAgro-Entrepreneurs Association.

However, to ensure sustainability, the group felt it was important to get younger members onboard. In 2019, the cooperative launched a youth farming initiative to encourage individuals aged 18-30 years old to venture into farming.

“Kapag may interested talaga, ine-encourage namin sila para ipagpatuloy…andito lang kami para suportahan sila (If they are truly interested, we encourage them to continue. We are here to support them),” says Stephanie Labcaen, Business Development Center Head. 

Youth farmers more strongly take the opportunity to attend training courses about agriculture, as well as joining government or non-government agriculture related programs. They apply new technologies and farm techniques to improve their production lines. Youth farmers also transact directly with organizations that can help them with capital for their production. They also make simple business plans as the basis for how they run their farms.

Part of their learnings came from taking part in FEP.

“Sa pamamagitan ng FEP, mas napahusay nila ang kanilang abilidad sa pamamalakad ng kanilang bukirin (Through FEP, they improved their skills in managing their farms),” said Labcaen.

She adds that youth farmers were able to buy farm equipment from the income they earned from their farms. The training also helped them in their ability to transact with the market even without the technical officers of the cooperative.

According to youth farmer Patrick Andaya, farming is a good way to help one’s family. It is also necessary to assure a steady food supply.

Andaya says, “Ang gusto kong sabihin sa iba pang mga youth na gustong pumasok sa agrikultura ay huwag nilang ikahiya ang pagiging magsasaka, dahil agrikultura ang pangunahing kailangan ng mga tao [para sa] bigas, mga gulay, at iba pa (I would like to tell the youth who would like to pursue agriculture to not be ashamed of being a farmer because agriculture is a primary need of the society for rice, vegetables, and others).”