Migration of ‘promdis’ imperils food security “

The migration of youth from the provinces [promdi] to urban centers could threaten further the country’s food security as most of them come from farming communities,” a party-list lawmaker said on Monday.

According to An Waray Rep. Florencio “Bem” Noel, the report that a younger farm workforce ages 15 to 29 years old has been flocking to large cities to find a better life does not augur well for food production nationwide.

Noel said that “able-bodied” farm hands in great numbers and speed are abandoning their farming villages, leaving the task of tending to the rice fields and other agricultural crops to the older, less-educated, and less farm technology-adept population.

“This is not a trivial matter. The unabated exodus of the rural youth to urban centers has greater implication on the stability of the agriculture sector in the long run,” he said.

The impact then of the young promdis leaving the countryside is far-reaching.

Studies showed that young women promdis outnumber the men promdis at aratio of 74:26, with the National Capital Region (NCR) as the favored destination.

The other cities that have experienced remarkable boom in migrant population since 1980s despite the shaky peace and order situation in their regions are Cebu City, Davao City, Cagayan de Oro City, General Santos City, Iligan City, Cotabato City, Zamboanga City, Butuan City and Dipolog City.

Traces of local migration boom surfaced in the 1970s as Metro Manila experienced a population growth rate of 3.6 percent annually until 1980s, when migration surged by 150 percent because of economic difficulties in the countryside.

It was estimated that for every five promdis bolting the rural scene, four are in the age between 15 and 29 years old.

Before internal migration peaked in the mid-‘70s up to late ‘80s, the exodus was being led by older promdis belonging to the 30 to 64 age bracket.

Noel added that with most of the rural youth gone to Metropolitan cities, aging farmers will have no second-generation of farm workers to succeed them. — Jomar Canlas, Manila Times