Abstract:
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 towards such a profile. The review synthesizes a set of stylized facts about agricultural workers in the Philippines, while identifying the following gaps: - Spells of underemployment and degree of deficit in work hours - Breakdown of activities for which wages are paid - Past employment history of agricultural workers - 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 so on. - 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 recommend policies and design of programs that help sustain and accelerate growth of remunerative employment.