The Agricultural Worker's Dilemma

When I was in college, there were older people who teased me for taking an agricultural course. They said I was studying in UP just to "daru" (plow the fields using a carabao). Some of them even told me that I am wasting my time taking agricultural course from UP and that I should have taken Law or Medicine to make the most out of the rare chance of entering this prestigious university. Some of them were people I respected as a young man that time so I was put into a dilemma as early as my first year in college.

This dilemma went deeper when I graduated college. Out of those who made it through the barrier exam, or board exam as it is popularly known, only 1 out of 10 could get a decent agricultural engineering job, others settle for non-engineering jobs while few choose to stay jobless for years rather than being hired as low-grade engineers. Quite frustrating for one who made sacrifices for 5 or more years.

In a jeepney ride during college, I overheard a civil engineering student saying that agricultural engineering is not an easy course because thermodynamics is not an easy thing to digest. I would say it is a psychologically difficult career rather than a mind boggling college course.

I then worked with a feeds manufacturing company for almost 2 years and was not given a single engineering assignment during my tenure. I then worked with a consulting firm conducting feasibility studies on agricultural projects. With these short work experiences, I learned that workers are categorized as "agricultural" and "non-agricultural". Agricultural workers are always paid about 25% less than their counterparts in other industries. Even agricultural professionals were paid less than their counterparts in other industries and were actually expected to settle for a lower standard of living since they are usually hired and located in remote rural areas.

It finally dawned on me that the average Filipino looks down at agricultural workers and professionals as 3rd-class income citizens and that it would take real education to change this point of view. It became clear to me why farmers and fishermen do not want their children to be in their line of jobs; and that they look at their jobs as only for the less educated.