In Táchira there are few young people who want to dedicate themselves to the countryside

The lack of economic incentive due to the investment that producers must make in the countryside, the lack of government support and the deterioration of penetration routes, generated the detachment of young people from their production units in the Táchira state.

spokespersons for the Peasant Federation of the state consider that the average age of farmers is 50 years. That is to say, there are few young people who stay to try to produce in the countryside.

Carlos Duque, secretary of the organization, is 52 years old, the rest of the board is over 70 years old. He explained that this panorama is repeated in each production space in the field. «At our age we no longer have the resources to sustain the land and the capital to produce. We ask the government to help us with credits to be able to afford and produce for the people,” he said.

Young farmers prepare, graduate and leave the country

«Few young people are in the countryside, the rest have gone to other countries. Here the government does not help them, they study, some are engineers, architects and other careers. “Agronomic engineers graduate and leave the country, leaving us in the field as producers,” said Pompilio Márquez, spokesperson for the Peasant Federation, with concern about the decrease in young farmers in Táchira.

State C has a university dedicated to training agricultural engineers. The Peasant Federation estimates that the majority of them prefer to work and produce in another country with greater benefits. Few are dedicated to practicing their profession and improving the production of family lands.

«I have several very young nephews and they have all left the countryside. They were all raised as farmers, but they had to travel to other countries because they can’t get a start here, they have to go and leave Venezuela. In truth, it makes us afraid and sorry, because we have our children, our grandchildren, our nephews, over there, producing for another country,” said Márquez.

Due to the lack of young people in the countryside, some lands have already been abandoned

According to statistics managed by the Peasant Federation in Táchira, a large amount of land is abandoned due to different factors. One of them is the lack of human capital. “There are many abandoned spaces, for example in Abejales,” said Carlos Duque, secretary of the organization.

Another factor is poor roads in most agricultural areas. They estimate that transportation costs and investment in vehicles cause a strong impact on the farmer’s economic production.

Can the production of 70% of the inputs that are mobilized at the national level be affected?

“Yes,” answered the secretary of the Federation. He warned that if the situation continues like this, very soon there will be no one producing in the fields of Táchira, even though this state is the main supplier of agricultural products for the entire country.