To help secure the country’s food supply and encourage more young people to become farmers, former Senator and 2025 senatorial candidate Panfilo “Ping” Lacson is pushing for a scholarship program for students, especially children of farmers, who want to work in agriculture.
Lacson said on Wednesday that this program would be similar to the “Doctors to the Barrios Act” authored by former Senate President Vicente Sotto III. The idea is to give young people the chance to learn modern technology in farming.
“This scholarship will help the children of farmers study modern methods instead of doing everything by hand,” Lacson said during a community consultation with local farmers.
He added that this will improve farm productivity and make more young people interested in farming.
Lacson also said that if the program succeeds, the Philippines could one day export food instead of importing it.
“We need young farmers who can learn new tools and machines to improve how farming is done. We can also give more funds to agencies that still use old equipment,” Lacson explained.
