N Insights
By Doc Ian Mark Q. Nacaya
Perspectives on Leadership and Community Life
Small farmers are among the most important workers in our communities. They produce much of the food that reaches our tables, sustain rural economies, and help protect agricultural lands for future generations. Yet many of them continue to face a difficult question: How can a small farm become more productive and provide a better livelihood for the family?
This concern inspired our book, Productivity Among Small Farmers: Guide for Agricultural Field Technicians, which I co-authored with Horacio Emmanuel S. Factura III and Dr. Francis Thaise A. Cimene. The book grew out of research conducted by the Center for Inclusive Development Studies of the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP), in collaboration with the City Government of Cagayan de Oro.
One lesson stands out from this work: agricultural development needs competent and committed agricultural technicians on the ground.
Agricultural technicians are more than government employees who occasionally visit farms. They are the important link between agricultural science, government programs, and the everyday realities of farmers.
A new farming technology has little value if farmers do not understand how to use it. A government assistance program cannot achieve its purpose if deserving farmers do not know how to access it. Seeds, fertilizers, equipment, irrigation, credit, crop diversification, pest management and market information become more useful when somebody is there to guide farmers in making the right decisions.
This is where the agricultural technician becomes indispensable.
Our book was designed as a guide for agricultural field technicians because improving farm productivity cannot rely on assistance alone. Farmers need continuing technical support, practical knowledge and interventions suited to their actual conditions.
The technician must therefore understand the farmer, not only the farm.
A farmer may have productive land but lack capital. Another may have access to inputs but struggle to find a reliable market. Others may be affected by changing weather patterns, rising production costs, pests, inadequate irrigation or limited knowledge of new technologies. Agricultural extension must identify these different constraints before recommending solutions.
This is why our local government units should strengthen their agricultural extension services. Municipal and city agriculture offices must be adequately staffed, trained, equipped and supported. Agricultural technicians should be able to regularly reach farmers, gather reliable field data, monitor interventions and determine whether government programs are actually improving productivity and household income.
Technology can also strengthen their work. Digital farm records, weather information, mapping, market-price monitoring and mobile communication can help technicians provide faster and more responsive assistance. But technology should complement, not replace, the human relationship between the farmer and the field worker.
Ultimately, agricultural development happens not merely in offices where programs are designed, but in the fields where those programs are put into practice.
If we want stronger food security, higher farm productivity and better lives for farming families, we must invest not only in farms and agricultural inputs but also in the people who bring knowledge and government support directly to our farmers.
Empower the agricultural technician, and we empower the farmer. Empower the farmer, and we strengthen our communities and our food security.
About the Author
Dr. Ian Mark Q. Nacaya is a public administration scholar, urban governance practitioner, and former six-term City Councilor of Cagayan de Oro City. He also served as a two-time Sectoral Representative to the City Council, first as SK City Federation President and later as Liga ng mga Barangay President, and was a three-term Majority Floor Leader. He is the Founder of NACAYA Public-SectoralDev Insights Consulting and serves as a graduate school professor in public administration courses.
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