THE Filipino farmer is going to be a vanishing breed in the next few years, unless the

Philippines develops a new breed of farmers to enhance the country’s food security
program.
With an average age of farmers at 57, doing so will definitely be a Herculean challenge.
However, there is a silver lining in Philippine agriculture as Filipinos, like Christine
Jodloman, are taking up the cudgels to infuse young blood into agriculture.
Jodloman, 23, a native of North Cotabato, Mindanao, will represent the Philippines in the
Youth Ag Summit, an international conference funded by Bayer Ag. The 2019 summit will
take place in Brasília, Brazil, from November 4 to 6, in partnership with Nuffield Brazil.
Jodloman, an agriculture and food-security advocate, has founded two youth movements,
namely, Palay and Food Secure Philippines. She is dedicated to empower rural-farming
communities to be “food-secure,” healthy and business-minded through an agriculture
entrepreneurship, or “agripreneurship,” program.
Jodloman said she is excited about the summit and looks forward to share her ideas with
her fellow delegates.
“The Youth Ag Summit is a great platform to learn, meet and collaborate with like-minded
peers from all over the world who share the same passion and commitment to advancing
agriculture,” she said. “I am extremely thrilled to represent my home country, and I look
forward to how we can contribute to find solutions and help feed the planet in a safe and
sustainable way.”

Engaging the youth

IN an e-mail interview with the BusinessMirror, Jodloman pointed out that programs on
agripreneurship, agriculture technology and farm tourism would encourage and engage the
youth to get more involved into farming.
“Most important, the connection of people [with the] land and agriculture should start at
a young age. Integrating agriculture appreciation and experience, in elementary and
secondary education, would be a step to engage more young people [to] farming,”
Jodloman said, adding she considers “The Garden Classroom” of Agrea Agricultural
Systems International Inc. as “one great program.”
Since the country is in the digital age, Jodloman cited the importance of technology as a
driver to entice and engage the younger generation to go into agriculture. Nevertheless, she
emphasized that the farmer be given more importance in developing and enhancing
agriculture.
“Yes, technology would be of great help to engage the younger generation in agriculture,”
she said. “However, it should not be on the extent of devaluing the best resource the sector
has: Human resources or our farmers. Technology should be a tool to advance agriculture
and not replace the human resources/farmers in the field.”

Passion for food

Although she observed the current youth generation has little or no interest in agriculture,
Jodloman said they are interested and passionate on food.
“When there are issues on food, the youth and most people are engaged in it. When people
say food, there is a sense of excitement and wonder. But when we say agriculture, it’s not
the same,” she explained. “We should see the connection between food and agriculture
because there is a big gap.”
Although granting scholarships is a lovely way to attract young people to be engaged in
agriculture, Jodloman said government must craft mechanisms and policies that would
encourage scholars in agriculture-related courses to stay and develop the food and
agriculture security of the country.
As far as millennials are concerned, Jodloman thinks that “food is life.”
“But for farmers and food producers, food is their life’s work.”
She added that agriculture must be treated as a field and sector of opportunities.
“We need fresher lens and [a] fresher world view that agriculture is the game-changer;
agriculture is extraordinary. Here, communicating agriculture in a positive way is the key,”
she stressed.
Jodloman credited her parents who are farmers for inspiring and motivating her to pursue
a passion in agriculture. She added her parents have the heart and good will to other
farmers in their community. She said she learned the values of humility, hard work and
kindness from her parents.

Role model
Jodloman considers Cherrie D. Atilano, 32, as her role model. Atilano graduated with a
degree in agriculture (magna cum laude) from the Visayas State University. Perhaps,
possessed with a high sense of idealism, Atilano turned down a Fulbright scholarship to
study in the United States and chose to stay in the country to help local farmers, instead.
Atilano founded and is the current chief executive officer of Agrea, a Marinduque-based
social enterprise that aims to help eradicate poverty among farmers and fishing sector,
lessen the impact of climate change and facilitate establishing food security in the
Philippines.
The two agriculture advocates met four years ago in a summit, wherein Atilano encouraged
former President Barack Obama to prioritize programs that will make farming cool, smart,
sexy and humane for the youth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region.
“From that moment, I know that she’s my icon. Now, I work with her every day in Agrea,”
Jodloman said.
She believes this is the best time to be courageous and be more focused in the country’s
food and agriculture sector. She added that more action and a clear vision are needed to
develop a solid food security in the future.

Youth Ag summit
THE Youth Ag Summit brings together young change-makers aged 18 to 25 to tackle the
challenges of feeding a growing population by 2050.
For this year’s global summit, each applicant pitched an idea to tackle food insecurity in
the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Bayer received over
2,800 applications from more than 140 countries.
Among the 100 delegates are entrepreneurs, farmers, students, plant scientists and
economists, to name a few. Their ideas focused on tackling challenges as varied as gender
equality, sustainable agriculture, youth education, food waste and climate change. Despite
their varied interests, all are committed to achieving a world without hunger.
“About 800 million people around the world go to bed hungry each night,” according to
Liam Condon, member of the board of management of Bayer AG and head of the Crop
Science Division. “The delegates headed to Brazil in November; all share a commitment
to drive innovation in agriculture, which is vital if we are to both feed the world and ensure
healthy ecosystems.”
The Youth Ag Summit will function as an idea incubator: Helping delegates turn their ideas
into reality and equipping them with the skills needed to realize their projects. They will
also hear from expert speakers and participate in field trips to learn more about the
agricultural industry in Brazil.