SCIENCE CITY OF MUNOZ, Nueva Ecija, March 13 (PNA) — An official of the Department of Education (DepEd) is encouraging students to venture into agriculture, saying that farming is a lucrative career if one “knows the house.”
During the 3rd Lakbay-Palay for students hosted by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) here Wednesday, Dr. Milagros Valles, director II of the Technical Vocational Unit of the DepEd, said that “wealth is at hand in agriculture if we know the technical know-how and know how to compete in the market.”
Encouraging the youth, aged 15 to 18, Valles said that skills and competencies are needed in farming so students must constantly learn from their school`s demonstration farms and help their farmer-parents access new information through the Internet and mobile phones.
With farmers` age averaging 57, Valles urged the students to venture in agriculture to sustain development in the country.
“We also hope that you pursue agriculture-related courses. With agriculture as an expertise, you can become teachers, consultants, researchers, communicators, engineers, and more,” she said.
Valles commended PhilRice for encouraging the youth engage in agriculture, which, she said, is a challenge for DepEd with its more than 7,000 schools across the country.
Participated by more than 600 students, PhilRice`s Lakbay-Palay aims to mold a new generation of farm entrepreneurs and research and development workers.
With the theme “Astig Mag-Agri, this year’s Lakbay-Palay was highlighted with students meeting the young PhilRice staff and talked with them the careers and opportunities in agriculture, especially in the rice sector. (PNA)