Our Food Is Unsafe
Sometimes we get overwhelmed by the headlines of a problem with one commodity or one producer. The reason these stories are called news is because they are not normal. Normal in the…
Farmers Abuse Their Animals
The very idea sends me into orbit. In any industry you will find a few bad players, and agriculture is not immune. But, consider this, why would a farmer abuse his or…
All farmers are old.
It’s true that most farmers are seniors and that the industry is experiencing an ageing crisis. It’s true that there is a danger of food shortage because of a lack of farmers,…
All farmers are poor.
Subsistence farmers remain one of the most marginalized sectors in the Philippines. No wonder nobody wants to farm anymore! There is an immediate need to better the lives of these citizens so…
All self-owned farms are evil haciendas.
Our history as a Spanish colony has rightfully taught us that many farmers suffered under the hands of plantation owners, and in some cases, that may still be true today. However, it…
Farming is easy.
No, it is not. If it were, more people would be in agriculture, less people would leave the industry, and all farmers would not want for money. Farming isn’t just planting and…
It’s okay to pay farmers poorly because they love their work.
There’s a certain bias that as long as you love your job, it’s okay to get paid next to nothing for it. And for some reason, it doesn’t affect all occupations. People…
Feminization of agriculture is the predominant global trend
The first myth is that the feminization of agriculture is the predominant trend in global agriculture, closely associated with male labor outmigration, women playing greater roles in smallholder agriculture, and increased participation…
Women “left-behind” are passive victims and not farmers
The second myth is that women are “left behind” in the rural village as passive victims of rural change while men choose to leave the village and earn higher income elsewhere. Women…
Feminization is bad for agriculture
The third myth is that the feminization of agriculture has negative consequences for agricultural production. It claims that women are less productive farmers than men and thus, as men move out of…
