Characterization of Agricultural Workers in the Philippines

Inclusive growth requires boosting incomes of workers currently in agriculture, either by shifting them to better-paying jobs outside agriculture or raising wages within agriculture. A comprehensive socioeconomic profile of agricultural workers will facilitate identification and prioritization of their problems, opportunities, and constraints. This study undertakes a review of secondary data toward such a profile.

The review synthesizes a set of stylized facts about agricultural workers in the Philippines, while identifying the following gaps: 1) spells of underemployment and degree of deficit in work hours; 2) breakdown of activities for which wages are paid; 3) past employment history of agricultural workers; 4) other relevant worker and household characteristics such as memberships in cooperatives and associations, other types of training such as technical and vocational education, other activities including outside agriculture, household assets; and 5) community-level variables such as access to roads and other infrastructure, and technologies such as farm machinery.

These gaps will inform the strategy of data gathering using follow-up survey of agricultural households. The primary data thereby gathered, upon suitable analysis, will assist in recommending policies and design of programs that help sustain and accelerate growth of remunerative employment.