(Eagle News)–Senator Leila de Lima has filed a bill seeking for free tertiary agricultural education for the dependents of indigent farmers.
In filing Senate Bill No. 853, De Lima cited data from the Philippine Statistics Authority 2015 Poverty Statistics for Basic Sectors report which noted that farmers and fishermen are the sectors with the highest poverty incidence.
She said the poverty incidence for the sector of farmers was at 34.3 percent.
“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 said.
She said free tertiary agricultural education for the farmers’ children will not only open more opportunities for them but will also encourage the children to consider agriculture as their alternative career and prepare them for advanced agricultural jobs.
Under SB No. 853, students whose parents have no means of income other than agriculture, as identified by the standards set by the Department of Agriculture (DA), are qualified to avail of the free tertiary agricultural education.
De Lima said that qualified dependent children intending to enroll or already enrolled in an agricultural course or any related field offerings in state colleges and universities, such as agro-forestry and agricultural engineering, shall be exempt from payment of tuition and other school fees.
They shall also be entitled to other incentives or subsidies, including living and transportation allowance, provided they meet the admission requirements of the schools where they intend to enroll in.
“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,” she said.