Ang Agro-Forestry ay isa sa mga kursong inilista ng Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) bilang priority courses na dapat kunin sa kolehiyo dahil madaling makapasok sa trabaho o makapagsimula ng kabuhayan.

Patunay dito si Forester Arsenio B. Ella, 2013 Outstanding Filipino sa Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development category ng Department of Science and Technology (DoST), na agad natanggap bilang researcher ng Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI/dating FPRD Commission), pagka-graduate.

“Forestry is a sure job; you do not have to compete in other professions just to be in, either in government or private,” pahayag ni Ella, ginunita na walang gustong kumuha ng Forestry noon. Unang ninais ni Ella na makapasok sa DENR.

Naging tanyag si Forester Ella nang isulong ang paggamit ng Pili resin o Manila elemi na pagkunan ng langis na lemonin sa paggawa ng pabango at paggamit ng Almaciga resin o Manila copal sa paggawa ng textile paint, varnish at pesticides.

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ITCZ, magdadala ng mga pag-ulan sa malaking bahagi ng bansa

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Sa kabila ng tinaggap na iba’t ibang parangal tulad UPLB-CFNR Alumnus Awards at National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) Research Achievement Award, nalulungkot siya na nakakalbo na ang kagubatan.

“For young people, it is not advisable to go into forestry. First, let’s face the reality, our forests are depleted. Those left in the mountain areas are just reforested species only, and we are now relying on the Industrial Tree Plantation Species. Wala na yung mga natural stand ng kahoy natin, like Apitong, Balaw etcetera.”

Dahil dito, aniya, “People should go into science in general. Like, to mitigate climate change... lectures are not enough. For me, my approach is, for example, kapag pinutol mo ang kahoy, automatic madaling magbaha. So ang mga bata, magkakaroon sila ng knowledge na ganito pala ‘yon. We have to make them understand the underlying reasons for this phenomenon. They will appreciate science even more.”

Kabilang din sa priority courses sa listahan ng CHEd ang Agriculture and Fisheries, Engineering tulad sa Electronics at Mining; Science and Math tulad ng BS Geology at BS Physics; Information Technology, Teacher Education major in Science, Math, atbp.; Health Science tulad Physical Therapy; Arts and Humanities tulad Creative and Performing Arts; Social and Behavioral Sciences tulad BS Psychology at Business Administration gaya Business Data Outsourcing.