HERE, THE GRASS IS GREENER
Agriculture professionals are encouraging more students to consider farming when choosing a career
What’s the next hottest industry? Agriculture. According to Israel ambassador Effie Ben Matityau, in his country, there are more young people choosing agriculture as a viable profession. “In Israel, more and more young people are getting into farming because it is a very profitable business,” he says.
Today, farming has come a long way from manual labor to technology-laden industry. Farming, when fused with technology, can be a very promising endeavor and profitable business for young people.
Ambassador Matityau urges young Filipino students to consider a career in the agricultural industry citing that it can be very rewarding given the natural abundance of the Philippines. He shared this to students of Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) during the opening of the photo exhibit “From Field to Fork.” The exhibition, which runs until today, showcases the agricultural abundance of Israel. This is the first time that “From Field to Fork” is showcased inside a school for all students to see. The exhibit featured some of the original crops from Israel including wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, and dates that resulted from “globally respected scientific research and cutting-edge technologies.”
LPU president Roberto Laurel, along with some senior LPU officials and students, welcomed Matityau. “We’re very happy that we have this exhibit from the Embassy of Israel because as we have heard, Israel—despite having a harsh environment—has one of the best agricultural produce in the world,” he says.
With hope, Filipino students would be able to learn something from the exhibit. “In the Philippines, the productivity in the farms is very low and not many would want to enter agriculture,” Laurel says. Through the exhibit, they want the students to get inspired and look at the model of Israel and how they are able to attract people to work in farms. “By fusing technology with human skills, they were able to produce all of these,” he adds.
To date, LPU is one of the best universities in the country when it comes to culinary and international hospitality management. According to LPU Arts and Cultural Affairs director Robert Hayden Jr., “From Field to Fork is just one of the several partnerships” of LPU with the Embassy of Israel. “We are very fortunate that we are the very first university to showcase this and we hope that our students can also learn something from the exhibit,” he says.
Before the opening of the exhibit, Matityau paid a courtesy call to Laurel where they discussed possible partnerships in the future. One of the topics discussed during the visit is the cooperation between Israel and the Philippines through the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
Matityau says that there are some 3,000 Filipinos who are studying in Israel mostly from the sectors of agriculture, education, and medicine. Currently, Israel is home to some 540 Filipino students through on-the-job training (OJT) programs. These students are from 26 state colleges and universities (SUCs) nationwide and who benefit from the 11-month OJT program where they learn more about becoming “more stable farmers” from the best agricultural schools in Israel.
Laurel says that the LPU is open to any partnership with the Embassy of Israel to help its students become more globally competitive. “We will explore the possibility of sending our students through an OJT program, with hope, in the future,” Laurel ends.