The Agricultural Sector plays a vital role in the Philippines as we are an Agricultural Country. Agriculture is the oldest form of subsistence in the country with almost 40% of its land area being used for farming and reported 9.16 million Filipinos engaged in crop production in the year 2010.

The problem is, Filipino farmers seem not keen on their children following in their footsteps. A study conducted in the year 2020 says that the average age of Filipino Farmers ranges from 50 to 59 years old. The reason is that 65% of Filipino farmers believe that their children are better off going to school to be professionals rather than being farmers like them. Agriculture is slowly dying together with the fallen farmers. With the remaining 35% of Filipino farmers who wish their children to continue with agriculture, most of them are elder farmers who want someone from their family to cultivate their farm land. This small proportion of heirs who agreed to continue farming learnt the very same conventional farming techniques from elder farmers. Knowing the millennial generation, old-repetitive ways easily bore them, because this generation keeps on seeking for more. Without new things to excite the new generation of farmers, agriculture will continue to be regarded as boring and unprofitable.

ALJAY, proves that agriculture was never boring and unprofitable through “YFarmers DREAM TEAM; Mukha ng makabagong magsasaka”. ALJAY Agro-industrial Solutions, Inc. in 2020, with the vision of being the TOP PREFERRED Agri-solutions provider in the country, strives to make new and exciting ways of agriculture for younger generations to enjoy. It all started in the year 2018, when the Marketing department launched the search for “YFarmers DREAM TEAM; Mukha ng makabagong magsasaka” which aims to honor and empower Filipino young-professional farmers all over the country who pour their hearts out to make farming COOL and PROFITABLE with the use of technology and unique farming techniques. Later in 2018, Aljay unveiled the first batch of #YFarmer Dream Team, young professional farmers from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

In 2019, ALJAY continued the search for #YFarmers aiming to find more young farmers to recognize in the leadership of ALJAY’s Brand Ambassador, Scottie Earl Thompson. This program raises awareness that farming is not only for the elders with conventional ways of farming but also for the young generation who seeks more exciting ways of farming at the same profit generating. Being young and dynamic, #YFarmers farm their future better with new and improved Y+ technology, the combination of ALJAY products and services, and Y+ app that digitizes agriculture for the younger generation.

With the #YFarmers and the package of technology being offered by ALJAY, the younger generation dubbed as the future of the nation won’t be compelled to be into farming anymore, because they will voluntarily plunge into the fun and modernized world of agriculture. How heartwarming it will be when more kids wear farmer’s clothes during Labor Day celebrations on school activities because they dream of being one someday? That is what ALJAY does, we keep on planting dreams.

While it is true that watering the roots makes a strong foundation, strengthening the branches and levelling up the fruit quality produces the best seeds for propagation. More propagated seeds mean more trees to grow. In agriculture parlance, it was never wrong to hold on to the old conventional way since every success of agriculture lies in it, but making fun and exciting ways out of the conventional produces more Yfarmers who will continue to write fun and exciting chapters in the book of Philippine Agriculture.There are two kinds of players in the industry; the one who sticks on classical belief continuum to preserve the conventional market, and the other one who fosters on new undiscovered markets.

Written by: Krizelle Dequillo, Field Audit Officer