New book looks into the declining enrollment in agriculture courses

 

 A new book by state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) examines the declining enrollment in agriculture, forestry, and natural resources (AFNR) courses in the country.

 

Titled “Higher Education in Agriculture: Trends, Prospects, and Policy Directions”, it looks into the need to rationalize AFNR higher educational and technical-vocational institutions. The book considers the development gains for the country if the agricultural sector, which represents a third of the country’s workforce, gets its much-needed boost.

 

The book is the result of the project “Policy Research on the State and Future Supply of and Demand for AFNR Graduates in the Philippines” conducted by PIDS and PCAARRD. It was edited by Dr. Roehlano Briones, PIDS Senior Research Fellow, and Dr. Melvin Carlos, Chief Science Research Specialist and Director of the Technology Transfer and Promotion Division at PCAARRD.

 

“The book will serve as a guide to policymakers, education specialists, students, and other education stakeholders, to understand the emerging challenges in the human resource aspect of agricultural development,” said Dr. Gilberto Llanto, PIDS President.

 

Dr. Patricio Faylon, PCAARRD Executive Director, said the book is intended to dig deeper into the declining enrollment in AFNR courses and to provide reasons for its decline, and what should be done to address this alarming phenomenon in AFNR education.

 

The book is another contribution of PIDS in partnership with PCAARRD to highlight the other key ingredient of inclusive growth which is higher education.  The trends, prospects, and policy directions of higher education in agriculture, which is the core study of this book, provides compelling recommendations on how the agriculture sector can stand up on its own legs.

 

For inquiries on the book, kindly contact the Publications and Circulation Division of PIDS atpublications@mail.pids.gov.ph or dial 893-9573/894-2584.