A Revolution Of Our Times! Landownership Out, Bandownership In

Here is another Brave New World PH!

54 days ago from today, 28 September 2020, The Editorial of The Manila Times predicted a modern revolution in PH Agriculture brought about not by a presidential decree but by a department head’s Administrative Order, AO, saying[1]:

The Department of Agriculture has set into motion a program of consolidation and clustering in the nation’s farm and fisheries sector that will, if it is allowed to be carried out as designed, completely transform Philippine agriculture from a perennial laggard to one of the country’s economic strengths.

“That will… completely transform Philippine agriculture” from being a laggard to being a source of power.

The Times’ editorial is in fact boldly titled, “DA Consolidation Program Will Save PH Agriculture” – and let us thank God it is worth saving!

(The DA head) signed… AO 27 on 05 August 2020, auspiciously marking his first year of service as the country’s agriculture chief. He said that many countries have long adopted farm and fishery clustering to increase food production levels, improve farmers’ and fishers’ incomes, and provide better access to resources, technologies, and markets for farmers and fisherfolk.

The AO calls for a “Farm and Fisheries Clustering and Consolidation (F2C2) Program.” DA Chief/Secretary of Agriculture William Dar says the F2C2 is “the first formal, comprehensive, and holistic government initiative to be implemented at the national level.” (management image[2] from Quora)

In baseball parlance, “holistic” means it covers all the bases. If you ask me, F2C2 is comprehensivewhere the  Agricultural Land Reform Code, RA 3844, signed by President Diosdado Macapagal in 1963, is fragmentary. RA 3844 is more about landownership and has nothing about managing the land to make it more productive so that the farmer can be more prosperous.

Not landownership, F2C2 is more about what I call bandownership, that is, where as in a musical band, everything plays out for the music that is good for all. Common ownership – i.e., formally or informally, the land is ours. Landownership, which the activist pro-farmer groups insist must prevail, has shown success in ownership but failure in management.

The farm operations must be shown to be productive and profitable – and for the farmer and his family a resulting life of prosperity.

Mr Dar said:

The F2C2 program is needed to enable the agriculture and fishery (sectors) to attain economies of scale, and thus achieve cost-efficient production, (harvesting), processing and marketing operations, subsequently increasing farmers’ and fishers’ incomes.

Economies of scalemeans even as the volume of production increases, the unit cost decreases. Impossible under landownership.

Additionally, Mr Dar says, “We will count on the strong support of farmers’ groups and local government units to successfully undertake our joint F2C2 program.” He notes that “the first major challenge is consolidating the country’s fragmented small farm holdings.”

On my part, I note that the first major challenge is to educate the farmers on both entrepreneurship and bandownership.

Until farmers accept that their prosperity lies in farm management and not in land ownership, Agriculture will keep them Poor!@517

 

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[1]https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/08/20/opinion/editorial/da-consolidation-program-will-save-ph-agriculture/757748/
[2]https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-of-the-different-management-styles

PH Agriculture – Now, “Technologies And Innovations Are The Engines Of Growth,” So Where Are We?

Going with Research, Growing with Extension…

We don’t – well,, Idon’t – associate the Department of Agriculture, DA, with Research, so it is a little unsettling that I read the news item by ANN, “Agri Research Centers To Receive Funding For Enhanced Tech Development And Extension[1]” (Author Not Named, 16 September 2020, DA.gov.ph). (Research-Action[2] image from WesternU.ca)

Research and Extension, R&E. So, doing its own research and extending the results to the farmers and fishers by way of technology or system, the DA is developing PH Agriculture.

So now, as far as I can see, R&E will be receiving the proper primordial attention in the countryside as Secretary of Agriculture William Dar has “directed the upgrading of the Regional Integrated Agricultural Research Centers, RIARCs, of the Department of Agriculture, DA, nationwide to launch the development of technology systems that would greatly improve Philippine agriculture,” according to ANN.

During the inauguration of the Regional Technology Extension Center in Magalang, Pampanga on 14 September, Mr Dar said:

We need to capacitate you (RIARCs) in terms of good laboratories, facilities, and equipment so that you can do your job in research and translate research outputs into something that we can massively give out to the farming and fishing communities.

Unlike in an academic setting, the R&E results that the RIARCS are getting do not go into publications but rather are meant for “(giving) out to the farming and fishing communities,” as according to Mr Dar.

Today, there are 15 RIARCS – that is, 1 each in 10 regions, 2 in Region 4 (4a & 4b), plus 1 each in CAR (located in Baguio City), CARAGA (Agusan del Sur), and ARMM (Cotabato City).

So each of the RIARCS will be receiving P50 million to upgrade its capacities and capabilities. The source of fund is the “Bayanihan to Recover as One Act” or “Bayanihan 2.” High-quality seeds, breeds of livestock and poultry, are expected to be developed among other innovations and replicated in every region to improve agriculture.

Mr Dar also said:

I’m with Senator Villar in terms of really having to reorient the system that yes, technologies and innovations are the engines of growth for modern and industrialized agriculture.

Mr Dar also said that the DA must “ensure that the programs and trainings to be implemented in the communities are technology-based or make use of technologies that improve productivity per unit area,” according to Gumamela Celes Bejarin of DA-AFID.

Here, I have personal knowledge of R&E as implemented by the RIARCS. Early this month, the RIARC of Region 1, headed by Jovita M Datuin, Manager, delivered to our Nagkaisa Multipurpose Cooperative, in my hometown of Asingan, Pangasinan, quite a number of native chickens to be raised by coop members. (See my essay, “Dream Come True – Native PH Chickens Laying 200 Eggs A Year![3]” 11 September 2020, Brave New World). Thank you Ma’am!

This is RIARCS research being extended to the village. So, the engines of growth can be as small as chicken eggs!@517

 

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[1]https://www.da.gov.ph/agri-research-centers-to-receive-funding-for-enhanced-tech-devt-and-extension/?fbclid=IwAR0oeBWgjkftP80X7GzXpC08gttOGLERpTIBlNVf3JgmuaQrGQdj7GqNWUQtps://www.edu.uwo.ca/research/index.html

3]https://bravenewworldph.blogspot.com/2020/09/dream-come-true-native-ph-chickens.html

Media Warriors In! Media Worriers Out! Speaking For PH Agriculture

Secretary of Agriculture William Dar is a warrior, intellectual. Above, note his “Ang Bagong Pananaw Sa Agrikultura.” The New Thinking For Agriculture, comprising 8 paradigms. (List below)

I am challenging PH digital media to be warriors for agriculture, not worriers of. I am taking the liberty of addressing online media directly, especially these selected Media Worriers:
(1) BusinessMirror,
(2) BusinessWorld,
(3) Manila Bulletin,
(4) Manila Times,
(5) Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism,
(6) Philippines Daily Inquirer,
(7) Philippine Star, and
(8) Rappler.

Warriors are braves; Worriers are cowards.

If they accept my media challenge, speaking for the Filipino people, for those Media Worriers to become Media Warriors, they must educate themselves on “The New Thinking for Agriculture” and its 8 paradigms:

(1)   Modernization

(2)   Industrialization

(3)   Promotion Of Exports

(4)   Consolidation Of Small- And Medium-Sized Farms

(5)   Infrastructure Development

(6)   Higher Budget & Investment

(7)   Legislative Support

(8)   Roadmap Development.

Warriors know what they are fighting for. I challenge you Media Worriers to know, understand, pronounce and promote the New Thinking For Agriculture along with its 8 paradigms.. Paradigms are “patterns” or “models” of thinking (American Heritage Dictionary). Thus, the combine harvester belongs in “Modernization” and warehousing in “Infrastructure Development.”

And now my radical proposal to create instead PH Media Warriors:

Compose a daily 2-page section on the paradigms as they gain, or regain, relevance to national agriculture.

You can design it the way you want it, but the stories must be on positive changes towards each paradigm being more fully achieved.

Once in place, the media section will serve as daily reminders what is being done to bring each paradigm truer to life:

(1)   Agriculture Modernization
The stories feature the application of new and/or improved equipment, machineries, technologies or systems that ultimate increase and sustain net returns.

(2)   Agriculture Industrialization
Farm products improved in time and with production now widespread. Such as cacao tablea and virgin coconut oil.

(3)   Agriculture Exports
Good or bad news about farm-based exports such as banana and coconuts, what government agencies are doing about them.

(4)   Agriculture Consolidation
Farmers agreeing to consolidate operations, not necessarily single ownership of the lands, resulting in economies of scale.

(5)   Agriculture Infrastructure
Infrastructure includes roads, warehouses, common service facilities and processing centers.

(6)   Agriculture Budget & Investment
A running account of national investments in agriculture in terms of budget and other expenditures.

(7)   Agriculture Legislative Support
When the Secretary of Agriculture asks for additional budget for such and such purpose, this media section should support him. Support must be continuous.

(8)   Agriculture Roadmap Development
All the while, a description of where PH Agriculture is now, in the form of a map of accomplishments, should be made available to the readers.

On Facebook share all Media Warrior articles; as PH is the social media capital of the world, you will find more Filipinos in Facebook than elsewhere.

With Media Warriors, even the most dense of Citizens, not to mention Congressmen and Senators, will begin to appreciate the importance of Agriculture and support it fully!@517

Binhi Awards 2019: How Does PH Measure National Excellence In Journalism Along With National Relevance To Agriculture?

 

Yesterday, 25 September 2020, ANN of BusinessMirror joyfully reported, “BM’s Bumper Harvest At 2019 ‘Binhi’ Awards[1]” (Author Not Named, BusinessMirror.com.ph):

(Mirroring the past), the BusinessMirror dominated… the 2019 Philippine (Binhi Awards) by winning seven awards, including top prizes in two major categories.

The paper’s Agriculture reporter Jasper Emmanuel Y Arcalas was hailed the country’s Best Agricultural Journalist of the Year for the third consecutive year.

The BusinessMirror’s Agri-Commodities page, edited by Associate Editor Jennifer A Ng, won the Best Agriculture Page Of A Newspaperback-to-back.

The BusinessMirror Broader Look Team bagged the SL Agritech Best In Rice Reporting award for its investigative piece titled “Pre- And Post-Rice Trade Liberalization Law, Big Traders Gaming Farmer Groups.”

Easily, one can see those are matters of Significance.

Now, we look for Relevance to PH agriculture.

That is to say, they are all important and necessary in the matter of journalism for aggiedevelopment but, actually, what is the relevance of each piece of journalism to national development?

Comes in Secretary of Agriculture William Dar, whose management thoughts are contained in The New Thinking For Agriculture he came up with even before he was appointed to such position by Du30. If you ask me:

Agriculture contributing its 100% share
to national development is what Mr Dar’s
New Thinking For Agriculture is all about.

The vision of the new PH Agriculture is clear: a food-secure country and income-secure farmers and fishers.

If your journalism does not reflect that you are coming from there or going to there, your journalism may be award-winning but irrelevant!

To be relevant, your journalism must touch any combination of the 8 paradigms for the New Thinking For Agriculture as enumerated by Mr Dar:

(1)   Modernization

(2)   Industrialization

(3)   Promotion of exports

(4)   Consolidation of small- and medium-sized farms

(5)   Infrastructure development

(6)   Higher budget & investment

(7)   Legislative support

(8)   Roadmap development.

Each paradigm is a necessary area for growth contributing to a common goal: national agricultural development. You can emphasize one paradigm but not leave out the other paradigms.

Each aggie journalist must do one’s research for one’s own understanding of the news one is pursuing in relation to any of the paradigms.

There is no need for any paradigm to be mentioned specifically anytime, but the readers must be able to discern which paradigm.

Ultimately, the journalism must be for food security; above all, it must be for inclusive prosperity – no farmer left out!

Journalists must understand the New Thinking For Agriculture. Otherwise, their journalism will only be good for Binhi (seeds for planting) and notguarantee Masaganang Ani at Mataas na Kita (Bountiful Harvests & Bounteous Income).

And why hand out the 2019 awards towards the end of 2020? (image of “2019[2]” from TrophyKits.com). I think I know – the many contesting manuscripts needed to be printed out, for the reading pleasure/pressure of the judges who were mostly, if not all, not digital-fingered.

PH aggie journalism has months to catch up with the times!@517

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[1]https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/09/25/bms-bumper-harvest-at-2019-binhi-awards/
[2]https://www.trophykits.com/proddetail.asp?prod=18619-G

High-IQ Urban Gardening – Digging Wealth Without Digging Dirt In Your Garden!

 

It’s the Science, whereby in a short while the soil in your garden literally turns from dirty to divine – very rich in foods for flowers, fruit trees, ornamentals, or vegetables. (Grow Rich image[1] from amazon.com)

Without digging, yes!

Cheryl Magyar gives you “6 Reasons To Stop Digging Your Garden + How To Get Started[2]” (01 July 2019, Rural Sprout). She says:

Now is the season to stop treating your backyard garden as a mini-farm and end the backbreaking work of digging once and for all.

Not only will your gardening “work” be more fun, you’ll end up working less hard too – which can only be a good thing.

Instead of digging up your garden, mulch it!

I have a direct experience in mulching our ricefield of 1 ha in our town of Asingan, Pangasinan, Philippines in the 1960s. I got the idea from American Edward H Faulkner: minimum tillage. I told the giant Howard rotavator tractor operator not to set the rotating blades to any depth but to simply pass the big, hulky thing over the field. My brother-in-law Inso said later he saw the operator smiling on the side. Why because he knew that would hardly use up any diesel fuel. But I also knew that the counter-pointed rotating blades will cut finely the weeds & soil in the same motion & mix them well on the upper surface of the soil, spread across the field as it went. My mulch!

Many years later, Inso told me he had continued that kind of mulching with his hand tractor and the results are as amazing – greater harvests. His neighbor farmers told him they had been imitating everything they saw him doing, but their yields were still much lower. He never told them about the mulching.

If you dig your garden, you are destroying the soil structure. Miss Cheryl says:

Fluffing the soil, then recompacting it, either by tractor or feet, destroys the intricate soil structure. It also prevents air and water penetration to the roots of the plants. Water is essential to the life of the plant; don’t cut off the supply, rather increase it by building the soil over time.

If your garden is covered green, meaning you don’t dig it, Miss Cheryl says, “The lack of bare soil prevents… seeds of annuals from germinating.” No weeds!

When you stop digging, over time your garden becomes more fertile. This will also encourage the multiplication of earthworms, which help aerate the soil, not to mention contribute their waste as soil wealth.

With your surface mulch, you will not have to water your crop every day, if at all.

And yes, you will experience higher yields in your Do-Not-Disturb Vegetable Garden as you add compost and organic matter to it.

There is another benefit if you do not disturb your garden. Miss Cheryl says:

Where you leave the soil unturned, beneficial organisms can thrive in their natural undisturbed environment. This allows for a balance between prey and predator species.

This is Gardening Without Pests!@517

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[1]https://www.amazon.com/Think-and-Grow-Rich-Legacy-audiobook/dp/B07D8LKF22

[2]https://www.ruralsprout.com/no-dig-garden/?fbclid=IwAR1ps6INVg0-7HD2ReQ8zO94JD79mE8WasBbbPmpAtqW5Fdx5oDqSFsgOD8

Wake Up! Aggie Journalists & Play Active Roles Towards More Farmers’ Success

A1, an OFW, takes up farming, cultivates 50 ha and makes P1,500,000 (US$30,000) every 6 months out of garlic and onions. Story comes out.

A2, also an OFW, cultivates 1 ha of rice and makes only P10,000 each cropping season. No story.

A3, a farmer, converts his 7-ha crop farm into a tourism farm and now is earning P1 million a year! Story.

A4, an agriculturist, quits his job at a government office, converts his 5-ha farm into a tourism farm and is earning P120,000 a year. Compare with A3. No story.

A5 is raising improved native chickens (dominant CZ) in La Union and is now earning half a million every 6 months. Story.

A6, long-time farmer, is raising native chickens and barely earning enough for his family. His wife sells fish in the public market. No story.

A7 planted the Longping hybrid rice in 10 hectares and made P500,000 in 1 growing season. Story.

A8 planted Longping hybrid rice in 1 ha and made only P15,000 in 1 growing season. No story.

A9 is growing cacao seedlings in his 1 ha agroforest farm and making P1 million a year from sales. Story.

A10 is growing cacao in his 2 ha agroforest farm and making only P100,000 a year from sales. No story.

A11 is growing sweet sorghum in 2 ha and making P500,000 from the wine he makes. Story.

A12 is growing sweet sorghum in 2 ha and making only P100,000 from the wine he makes. No story.

A13 is growing all the pinakbetvegetables and is making P1 million a year. The vegetables include bitter gourd, eggplant, okra, chili, drumstick tree, and winged beans. He sells to A15. Story.

A14 is growing all the pinakbetvegetables and is making only P150,000 a year. No story.

A15 is running a restaurant in town exclusively offering the authentic Ilocano pinakbet, and is making half a million pesos every 4 months. The Filipinos – and foreigners – love vegetables cooked just right. Story.

A16 is running a restaurant offering exclusively pinakbet and is making only P50,000 every 5 months. No story.

A17 bought a bus and now is earning P500,000/year from that vehicle. He is planning to buy another one. Story.

A18 bought a bus and now is earning P150,000/year from that vehicle. No story.

A19 has an orchard of mangoes that yields him P750,000 every harvest season. He does not do the harvesting himself – the buyer along with his boys does it. Story.

A20 has an orchard of mangoes that yields him only P50,000 every harvest season. No story.

Different farmers, similar costs – dissimilar results in returns. There are millions more farmers failing to rise from poverty, so they are the ones that our journalists should be writing about! (millionaire image[1] from SlidePlayer; w/health image from Shutterstock.com[2])

Unhappily, PH journalists actively neither supports the leadership of Secretary of Agriculture William Dar nor farmer groups in their efforts for individual members to succeed. Else, we can have more millionaire farmers than they can write about!@517

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[1]https://slideplayer.com/slide/13708016/
[2]https://www.shutterstock.com/search/wealth

Which Of The Top 5 Soft Skills Of 2020 To Develop For 2021 – Qualitatively Different Advice From US Mentor Emma Brudner & PH Guru Frank A Hilario

Here’s my birthday advice to you if you are looking for a mentor of men (Miss Emma) or a mentor of minds (Mr Hilario). She advices on how to get yourself a more rewarding job; I advice you on how to get yourself a more enriching mind this year and on to the next.

And you know what? My single advice is based on Miss Emma’s 5!

In the Inc.comarticle “The Top 5 Soft Skills Of 2020 And How To Develop Them[1],” Miss Emma has this list:

1.     Creativity

2.     Persuasion

3.     Collaboration

4.     Adaptability

5.     Emotional intelligence.

Note that she is coming from the assumption that soft skills are now being preferred by companies hiring people over hard skills– even those with diplomas or certificates of graduation.

Miss Emma says the 5 in the list come from LinkedIn – which I can say is The Facebook of Skilled People – and are ranked one to the other:

Creativity is most important, while
Persuasion is 2^nd in importance, and
Collaboration is 3^rd in importance, and
Adaptability is 4^th in importance, and finally your
Emotional Intelligence is 5^th one to really thrill your next employer.

Creative – You are able to come up with ideas on your own, and/or bounce ideas off others for any new or improved pronouncement, policy, product or process.

Persuasive – You can argue from your side, and from the other side. You can examine all the angles, and can come up with rebuttals if necessary.

Collaborative – You know how to define the structure of that collaboration. On one boat, you know how to get everyone to row together and not against each other. You make sure everyone listens, asks questions and understands what is/are expected of him/her.

Adaptive – The circumstances may change, but your mindset is always able to help you adjust to the new requirements. You may also want to test an alternative idea or approach.

Emotionally intelligent – You do seek out others for their points of view. Empathy is essential.

All that from Miss Emma.

Think now, I have only 1 advice:

Learn to be creative!

Creativity covers all.
From Alignment to Zaire.

How do you cultivate creativity? The “Po Technique” of Edward de Bono says in brainstorming, there are no negatives. Look inside or beside – there may a bright idea somewhere.

Sorry, but if you look at the above image again, you can see that it is:
not creative.
not persuasive.
not collaborative.
not adaptable.
not emotionally intelligent!

If you are creative, you always come up with ways to convince people to contribute to the common effort.

If you are creative, brainstorming with the team, you always come up with ways for everyone to help each other out in the common project.

If you are creative, you always think out ways to adjust to your group.

If you are creative, you always ask for feedback. And you will become more creative as a result!@517

 

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[1]https://www.inc.com/emma-brudner/the-top-5-soft-skills-of-2020-how-to-develop-them.html?cid=sf01002&fbclid=IwAR3eB0ZMKr6idMl9O0b6lMd9KT2XaiqlUYnlT-6sR-ygFs-8Un2A8p8-JKk

My Birthday Is Coming Up, And If You Love Me, Bury Me With Your Un-Edited Technical Papers As Your Gifts!

After creative writing, my next big talent is technical editing. And so today, my way of giving thanks to the Lord for reaching 80 (not today), send me your unedited technical manuscript on agriculture, biodiversity, communication, ecology, education, forestry, technology or any related field – and I will edit the first 17 soft copies I receive, gratis et amore! frankahilario@gmail.com (Otherwise, it’s P7K.)

Pre-digital: If you don’t know me, from 1975 to 1981, for the Forest Research Institute, FORI, I was the founder and Editor In Chief of the monthly newsletter Canopy, quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop, and quarterly popular color magazine Habitat. Those publications made FORI well-known here and abroad.

100% digital: From 2003 to 2008, I was the Editor In Chief of the Philippine Journal of Crop Science, PJCS, the one who elevated it to the internationally honored list of journals called ISI (Web of Knowledge-Web of Science).

My offer of a gift to edit your technical paper was prompted by the Facebook sharing of DoST (main image above) with the title “DoST and Elsevier, World’s Largest Scientific Publisher, Renew Partnership.” Thus, “DoST revitalized its subscription to the scientific publishing giant’s online journals, citation index database, and capacity building of researchers on authorship to scientific journals.”

I note: “capacity building of researchers on authorship (of papers submitted) to scientific journals.” Mr DoST, I say we do not need to subscribe to foreign journals for our authors to come up with international standards in technical writing – we can ask the help of the Editors In Chief of the Philippine Agricultural Scientist, PAS, and the PJCS who actively brought those publications to the internationally respected ISI level: OK Bautista for PAS and Frank A Hilario for PJCS.

Experience is the best teacher!

… the year 2019 posted the highest research output in a single year at 5,614 research publications produced.

As an Editor In Chief of 45 years, here’s my comment on the above DoST news:

The highest research output in a single year at 5,614 research publications produced is unbelievable!

The DoST reporter did not proofread his report – a cardinal sin. By “5,614 research publications produced,” s/he must mean 5,614 research papers published, not 5,614 research journals published – too many!

Here is a Facebook comment on the above DoST sharing:

Edd K Usman: Ma’am, thanks so much. Take care. Head already corrected… renews to renew.” Slip-up.

In the title of the paper, a grammatical error occurs: “renews” instead of “renew.” Really, my editorial work of 45 years tells me that authors are not careful with grammar – and that is why you need editors who are careful with those who are careless.

And yes, on the above main image, I superimposed “How to write a great abstract.” The mentor is using a fountain pen – that is bringing back technical writing to 45 years ago.

I am 100% self-taught when it comes to digital. Today, editors of technical papers must be 100% digital, or must yield to others who are!@517

 

From Agriculture to Communication to Medicine to Painting to Zero Waste Management – Rethinking Learning When All The World’s In A Daze

 

A Civil Service Professional, I educator can see that Education Secretary Leonor Briones has already embraced this new world:

Education Online.

Unfortunately, our teachers have shied away from it. Even our journalists have kept distance from distance learning!

White-haired Miss Leonor is almost 80, born 16 October 1940. Almost thoroughly white-haired, I am myself almost 80, older by 30 days. She is Secretary of Education; I am a Civil Service Professional teacher myself –

Both educators, we are living proofs that
Nobody is too old to learn something new!

But the Method of Teaching must fit the Material being Taught. Above, I superimposed the image of a girl studying Literature[1] (from WikiHow) by handwriting her notes – this is Very Old School. This is going backward in education.

By the way, I teacher am a self-taught digital man – today, I research via digital, take notes digital, write digital, read digital, rewrite digital, finalize digital. No sweat, because I taught myself to be a blogger, an earnest one since January 2007 when now PH Secretary of Agriculture William Dar was still Director General of ICRISAT (he was DG 2000-2014), and he enlisted me as an international consulting writer, work from home.

Above, I featured as the main image Miss Leonor because she is the First Learner in the World of Digital Education in the Philippines.

From the article written by Bonz Magsambol (10 September 2020, “Briones Says Modular Learning 'Expensive,' Has 'Big Effect' On Environment[2],” Rappler.com), I can see that Miss Leonor’s thinking is holistic, meaning “Emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts[3]” (American Heritage Dictionary). She has been thinking of the whole world of Education, from a common table at home to a whole school building – and realized that one needs only a little space to learn, not “a whole environment conducive to learning,” which schoolrooms are supposed to be.

“Modular learning” is “expensive” and has “big effect” on the environment. She explains that modular learning requires paper for printing.

May implikasyon ang dependence sa modular learning dahil baka uubusin natin ang mga puno natin sa kaka-produce [ng learning modules]. 'Yung demand for paper [is high]... malaki ang effect sa environment.

(There are implications of our dependence on modular learning because we might exhaust our trees just to produce those learning modules. The demand for paper is high… this has a big effect on the environment.)

I did not know Miss Leonor is also worried about the natural environment – which we all should be.

Since I consider Agriculture as the Handmaiden of National Development – aka Economic Development – I am now thinking about learning any and all of Agriculture online.

I am thinking of my alma mater, UP Los Baños, as the initiator of the new Digital Movement. Eventually, this will filter down to the farmers in the field who can receive instructions via their own cellphones. Then we will have digital farmers.

Digital is the way to go!@517

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[1]https://www.wikihow.com/Utilize-Winter-Break-for-Studying
[2]https://rappler.com/nation/briones-modular-learning-expensive-effect-environment
[3]https://www.thefreedictionary.com/holistic

Dream Come True – Native PH Chickens Laying 200 Eggs A Year!

Above are images of the native, free-range chickens that the Innovative Family Enterprise Development, IFED, Project has delivered to my hometown of Asingan in Eastern Pangasinan. The batch will be distributed to 30 family women entrepreneurs after training. The IFED Project is led by Jovita M Datuin, DVM, OIC Regional Technical Director for Research & Regulations of Region 1, Department of Agriculture, DA. This follows the Memorandum of Agreement signed between Asingan Mayor Carlos Lopez Jr, DA Region 1 officials, and farmer member-beneficiaries of the Nagkaisa Multipurpose Cooperative of the town, last February (ECV, “Asingan Coop Gets P.5M Worth Of Free-Range Chickens[1],” Sunday Punch).

According to ECV, Asingan is the very first recipient town and therefore the model of IFED in the 6^th District of Pangasinan. “Free-range chickens” means they are free to roam within the confines of the area where they are raised and feed only on vegetation such as grasses and other natural foods such as insects and worms. That is what makes them cost-effective to raise, says Miss Jovita. No antibiotics are given. With improved housing, feeding, and health management, she says we can expect each bird to lay 200 eggs a year, instead of only 60[2].

The above images are in the Facebook post of Miss Jovy, and here is the exchange of comments:

Frank A Hilario:Finally, simmangpet ti native idiay asingan! (Finally, the native has come home to Asingan!)

Jovita Datuin: Frank A Hilario, Sir Frank, this is the project I discussed at Asingan when I met you. I was inspired to meet the outstanding journalist. We have donated half a million pesos to start the innovative family enterprise development project for free-range chickens. Thank you for inspiring us.

“Thank you for inspiring us.” Oh yes, now I can tell you that when Miss Jovy visited Asingan and talked about the project to Nagkaisa members, I mentioned that I was a diehard believer in native PH chickens, and that in 2016 I had edited and produced the book titled Philippine Native Animals, subtitled Source Of Pride & Wealth Worth Conserving & Utilizing,published by the National Swine & Poultry Research & Development Center, which is under the DA. It’s 200 pages of data & information meant to inspire people to raise any of the native PH chickens: Banaba (native of Batangas), Bolinao (Pangasinan), Camarines (Bicol Region), Darag (Western Visayas), Joloano (Jolo), and Paraoakan (Palawan). 

Much later, after that talk, with others, Mayor Lopez, Roger Daranciang (Chair of Nagkaisa), and I visited the DA Region 1 office in San Fernando City, and after an exchange of news and information, Regional Director Lucrecio Alviar Jr told us that he was convinced that Nagkaisa would make an ideal coop growing native chickens. Thank you, Miss Jovy and Mr Alviar, for the trust!

And why do many chicken lovers prefer the PH native? They cannot describe the flavor exactly except to agree that the native meat has a “distinct taste.” Me? I just love that it is flavorful and healthful.@517

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[1]https://punch.dagupan.com/articles/news/2020/02/asingan-coop-gets-p-5m-worth-of-free-range-chickens/

[2]https://poultrymanual.com/native-chicken-production-philippines

How Stands PH Agriculture Today? Resilient, Surprisingly Growing 1.6% In Q2 – William Dar, Secretary

 

Despite the pandemic.

The World Bank report – Transforming Philippine Agriculture (During Covid-19 and Beyond) – is out, if late by 2 months. It’s in pdf, 128 pages.

Even the World Bank is an unwilling victim of the worldwide pandemic lockdown as countries’ reactions were uncoordinated even as rules had to be reviewed. That to me explains why the WB’s report came out 3 months later than its publication date: out of the press June2020, out to the world September2020. Somebody must have noticed some lapses in digitizing work; me, as Editor In Chief of 45 years on the broad subject of Science, I still see a few misses in editing, but nothing serious.

It was a World Bank team led by Eli Weiss, co-led by Anuja Kar, and comprising John Nash, Steven Jaffee, Roehl Briones, Carolina Figueroa-Geron, and Paula Beatrice Macandog. Joop Stoutjesdijk, Maria Theresa Quiñones, Roberto Martin N Galang, and Victor Dato gave additional inputs. (You can’t see the spelling error there; I have already corrected it.)

The report’s title of 7 words fully captures what Secretary of Agriculture William Dar has been directing national efforts in immediately dealing with from lack of farm produce in the markets to over-supply to over-pricing.

The customers must always be treated right!
And as soon as possible.

To the intellectual credit of the WB group, the report essentially follows Mr Dar’s “The New Thinking for Agriculture” that was already there when he assumed office on 05 August 2019. I quote from the report:

Policies being put in place by the current government are based on a “New Thinking for Agriculture” with eight paradigms for sectoral development and modernization: agricultural modernization, industrialization, export promotion, farm consolidation, roadmap development, infrastructure development, securing budget and investments, and legislative support.

If you want to go anywhere new and reach your destination, you have to have a new roadmap!

Underpinning these eight paradigms are the four pillars of the Department of Agriculture’s… agro-industrial strategy: inclusive sector, utilization of science-based tools, market-oriented interventions, and resilience to climate risks. This policy reorientation holds promise (of) transformational change that will produce a more resilient, inclusive, competitive, and environmentally sensitive sector. 

The DA’s agro-industrial strategy is inclusive, science-based, market-oriented, and climate smart.

Mr Dar said of the WB report:

The message of this Report is clear: The transformation of Philippine agriculture into a dynamic, high-growth sector is essential for the country. It is the surest way if we are to speed up our economic recovery from the pandemic and achieve a meaningful poverty-reduction and inclusive growth.

We are thankful that despite the social paralysis and economic slowdown the pandemic has wrought, the agriculture sector remains resilient, even growing a quite surprising 1.6 percent in the second quarter. (image of Growth[1] from Red Zone Marketing)

And so we look forward to:

As the World Bank says, the “promise (of) transformational change that will produce a more resilient, inclusive, competitive, and environmentally sensitive” PH Agriculture.

As Mr Dar says, “Science with a human face.”@517

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[1]https://www.redzonemarketing.com/the-problem-with-business-growth/