From Commitment to Action: Filipino College Students' Involvement in Agriculture in Selected Provinces in the Philippines

Abstract

This study determined which knowledge sharing and learning (KSL) intervention best fits agriculture and non-agriculture students in the Philippines, and documented each of the student groups' commitments to be intermediaries to farmers. Six months after the data had been gathered through survey method, the research team documented which KSL intervention each student group shared to others. The study also determined whether the students’ expressions of commitment had been concretized into action. Samples were randomly selected from higher education institutions in the Philippines, namely, Central Mindanao University in Bukidnon, Central Bicol State University of Agriculture in Camarines Sur, Father Saturnino Urios University in Agusan del Norte, and Camiguin Polytechnic State College. A total of 44 agriculture students and 59 non-agriculture students were compared. The study found that agriculture students involved themselves using their technical knowledge of information and communications technology (ICT)-based tools, whereas the other group of students employed nontechnical and practical ways to help their communities—specifically by encouraging people to save rice. Agriculture students reached more farmers than the non-agriculture students did. The results of this study could guide policymakers in developing policies that would enhance students’ involvement in agriculture.