Intergenerational Engagement of Filipino Rice Farmers: A Dead-End Path to Food Security?

The continued engagement of Filipino rice farming households is vital for the country’s food security. This paper explores the intergenerational engagement of rural Filipino families in rice farming. A household survey of 1,165 rice farmers was conducted, covering 10 provinces and representing eight of the 13 regions in the Philippines. Results of the study showed that farmers are getting older, the youth are growing disinterested, and the males dominate in rice farming. There was a dramatic decline in engagement from the first and second generation to the third generation of rice farmers. However, more than 50% of the farmers wanted their children to engage in farming on a part-time basis only. It is their aspiration for their children to finish college education, but they also desire to pass on their farm to their children as inheritance to continue the family farming tradition. The study also showed a greater likelihood for a farmer’s child to engage in rice farming when the farmer is older, has more years of farming experience, and has a bigger household size. However, farmers with secondary and college education are less likely to have a child engaged in rice farming compared with those who had primary education. These findings suggest formulation of policy interventions to entice rural farming households to sustain, if not increase, engagement in rice farming in succeeding generations.