EINAR M. DE MESA
PARTNERS IN THE FIELD
ANTONIO T. SABANGAN
JEHANEL V. SORIANO
revolution MARY GRACE M. NIDOY
From igniting movements to catapulting global phenomena in technology, politics, and business, the youth has played a big role throughout our history. Armed with idealism, zeal, and passion, the world’s young cohort continues to grow in terms of population.
According to the UN Population FundPhilippines, our country now has the largest generation of young people in history with 30 million aged 10-24 years old, accounting for 28% of our population. With a gamut of challenges facing the food systems, engaging the largest youth generation is inarguably necessary. This surfaced in a recent dialogue organized by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on ASEAN’s food systems where the youth’s perspective was taken into account to help transform higher agricultural education. 20
PHILRICE MAGAZINE | JUL-SEP 2021
Toward the 2030 agenda and intensifying momentum leading up to the UN’s 2021 Food Systems Summit, the world needs the youth more than ever. When the world is at a standstill, some take various pathways to transform food systems, starting in their own community. Here are the young people helping to make our food systems more sustainable, profitable, and resilient:
young OF THE
This 2017 agribusiness graduate from Central Luzon State University immediately put up her own agriculture supply store in her birthplace in Ilagan City, Isabela.
Even before the pandemic stunned the world in March 2020, she had quit her job as a market inspector in a governmentowned research center and enrolled in the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund-Rice Extension Program’s Training of Trainers to start her own farm school. While the process from applying as a learning site to farm school was rigorous, Jehanel said it was all worth it. Since its establishment in July 2020, her Jesla Integrated Farm has trained 200 farmers.
“When I was young, I enjoyed selling goods from our sari-sari store. I’ve always been a business-minded person since then,” Jehanel recalled.
With her entrepreneurial mentality, she also availed of the DA-Agricultural Credit Policy Council Program for her layer production business worth P5 million.
JEHANEL V. SORIANO, 25 Entrepreneur
