DAGDAGs For Extension! Not Only Should DA Be Telling Farmers What To Do, It Should Be Extending, Offering Options Of What Farmers Could Do!

Today, I would like to deal with Agricultural Extension, which has been set aside by the PH Department of Agriculture (DA) after the creation of the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI).

All I know is that ATI used to be BAEx – Bureau of Agricultural Extension – extensionists seeing farmers in their farms or homes, advising about techniques & tricks in agriculture. I saw it firsthand – in the early 1960s, my brother Emilio, a graduate of Araneta Institute of Agriculture, was very zealous about extension, especially with a motorcycle assigned to him by BAEx. For instance, I remember him teaching farmers how to plant rice in measured distances, he actually helping string out the field with little white strings tied on to indicate exact places to insert the seedlings. No sloppy work, my brother Emilio. Don’t underestimate Araneta!

Today, what I know is that ATI is all Training, Training, Training – not minding Extension much. But my writing the essay, “‘The Biggest Job In The World Is Getting Bigger” – BASF, Referring To Agriculture. If We Want To Succeed In The Field, PH Needs Billions In Its Budget!” (20 May 2022, Towards A New Eden, Blogspot.com), reminded me, via a provision of the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), that Extensionis necessary and that in fact the RTL provides every year P1 Billion for “Extension and Training.” Note: “Extension and Training” – Extension is first!

Extension is not simple but complex, as the above image shows. There is more.
(Extension image from Slideshare.net)

On its own website ati2.da.gov.ph, in “About ATI,” it says:

Agricultural Training Institute is the capacity builder, knowledge bank and catalyst of the Philippine Agriculture and Fisheries extension system.

ATI as “capacity builder” yes – trainer. But “knowledge bank” and “catalyst of the Philippine Agriculture and Fisheries extension system” – sorry, not yet!

Not even much-honored and 62-year old International Rice Research Institute(IRRI) is that “extensionable”. The IRRI Knowledge Bank tells you exactlywhat to do. Nyet!

A proper Knowledge Bank gives you options with the sets of knowledge you can withdraw from it. This bank will give you basic knowledge about things, such as what are the:

available hybrid rice varieties & characteristics
sources & how to obtain such varieties
source-prescribed method of planting a hybrid
successful farmers with those varieties
necessary budgets
expected incomes.

A proper Knowledge Bank gives farmers options to choose from: technologies, techniques, tips. If not, don’t call it a “Knowledge Bank” – instead, call it an “Instructions Bank!”

So, here’s my advice for Mr Dar to create an extension program to be called DAGDAGs:

DAGDAGs – Digital Agriculture to Accelerate Acquaintance of Generalizations & Givens for Development-Directed Activities Grounded On & Supported by Science

The basic word DAGDAG is both Tagalog and Ilocano. In Tagalog, dagdag means “extra” while in Ilocano, dagdag means “remind” or “push to follow instructions.”

DAGDAGs would not only add to but greatly multiply the efficiency of necessary extension efforts of the DA – including harnessing the power of the Internet!@517