Johannes Chua Is Unhappy Student Journalists Are Using AI To “Write” Their Pieces. I Am Happy To Advice Professors Like Him: “To Make Them Happier, Teach THiNK! Journalism Instead!”

 

Johannes Chua, retiring Section Editor of “Property Living” and “Environment & Sustainability” of Manila Bulletin, is saddened by the multiplication of AI-generated manuscripts in journalism classes and elsewhere. I am not! Definitely. It’s time to teach those students (and teachers) happy journalism! 

(“Robot hands” from eweek.com, “Steve Jobs” from benfrancia.com)

Mr Chua writes:

The first “red flag” occurred mid-year [2023]. [Earlier], while teaching a part-time class for journalism students (as a way to discover new talents..., I found myself laboring over their works, correcting their bad grammar, wrong tenses, weak leads, etc. Suddenly, in the middle of the term, all students “transformed” into professional writers overnight. When I was checking their midterm papers, I was surprised to read impeccable works with perfectly constructed sentences, valid arguments, and impressive conclusions.

Mr Chua’s beginning journalism students had transformed themselves into “impeccable” journalists! He knew they owed their “works” to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) program called “ChatGPT.” They were cheating, but they thought they could get away with murder!

Mr Chua says:

Of course, I was challenged by the students. One even dared me to use a plagiarism checker. She passed and the plagiarism checker said that she did an “original” piece. Upon closer inspection, I saw that she intentionally misspelled words, changed the order of sentences, etc. The proof that it was ChatGPT[-]generated was the presence of the phrase, “In conclusion” and some peculiar words such as “realm,” “tapestry,” “unfurling,” etc. The way ChatGPT ends an article is also distinct, as I’ve seen its style several times.

So, journalist students are now studying, instead, how to get away with AI journalism? Professors, you can flunk them – but be sure to give them a chance to redeem themselves. Because their “success” is your “failure.”

No Sir! As a self-styled communicator for development, I am not worried. If I were the journalism professor, I would use what I call “THiNK! Journalism” – encouraged by Zig Ziglar – to measure each journalistic piece submitted – and give hints how to improve it:

True is it? If True, is it
Helpful? If Helpful, is it
Inspiring? If Inspiring, is it
Necessary? If Necessary, is it
Kind? THiNK!

Not to me “Truth Journalism,” which is the genre that won for Filipina journalist Maria Ressa the Nobel Peace Prize, 2021.

Journalism students should be taught instead creative thinking – I suggest via the “Po Technique” (read Edward De Bono’s book The Mechanism Of Mind, 1969). When you think of a subject, welcome even negatives – say “Po!” and examine for positives they may be “hiding.” I read that book in 1975; my tens of thousands of blogged essays are testament to Po’s power. Po brought out my genius!

Actually, those ChatGPT journalists are unhappy with what they’re doing. Help them bring out their genius! Teach them creativity, and they will learn what genius Steve Jobs taught the world: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”@517

To Become A Happy Writer, About What Are Needed: Here are “Frank's 5 Happy Steps To Writing!”

Shared by Jerry R Yapo on Facebook Friday, 22 Dec 2023, “About What’s Needed To Become A Writer” by Abdon Balde Jr (ABJ). About ABJ, this is what Wikipedia tells me (en.wikipedia.org):

Abdon Balde Jr (born 12 September 1946) is a contemporary Bicolano writer in Bikol, Filipino, and English. He was [honored] as one of the Outstanding Bikolano Artists for 2009 in Literary Arts category in Naga City, and Southeast Asian Writers Awards for the Philippines in Thailand last 2009. In 2012, he was named Poet Laureate of Albay.

Very impressive!

This is what appears below the “Fun In Writing” image above, my selections (in italics):

ABOUT WHAT’S NEEDED TO BECOME A WRITER.

If you could hold a pencil and write on paper you could be a writer. If you could pound keys [on] a keyboard and write sentences you could be a writer. The rest could be learned. Convert to words what is in your mind. Never mind about grammar and spelling – what you’ve written could be edited by others. What’s important is that you are able to write many, many words on paper or on screen.

Do not start writing with the belief that writing is a serious business. Writing is fun. It’s a wonderful preoccupation. It enables you to extract beautiful words from inside your heart and mind. It empowers you to create a world of your own. In writing you can become like the god of your fairy tales!

I still believe that frequent practice is more important than waiting for natural talent to surface. I do not believe that talent is something anyone is born with. I also believe that more than just practice and talent, something else should be there – an itch, an urge –something there inside you that pushes you to crawl out of your cocoon and grow wings.

To each his own.

After ABJ’s advice, I will now give mine based on my 49 years of actual experience in creative writing, since 1974, and having blogged thousands of essays since 2000. Oh no, I did not finish a course near enough to writing – I am a UP Los Baños graduate, 1965, major in Ag Edu.

In high school, the Reader’s Digest encouraged me to write.

Oh yes, I am a self-taught writer, editor, photographer, publisher and blogger. I “graduated” from typewriter-based writing to digital writing starting Innocents Day in 1985. Oh yes, I’m happy!

Here are “Frank's 5 Happy Steps To Writing” –

1, Write.
2, Read.
3, Rewrite.
4, Reread.
5, Rewrite.

Read before and/or after you write your 1^st draft. Read other writers (whether you call them “writers” or not). Read books. Read other materials. Read the Internet.

Remember: Assuming you know good English, your quality of writing depends on how well you read & reread (others & yours), and how well you rewrite your outputs. (This 517-word essay, I wrote & rewrote several times from about 10 AM Friday to 7 AM Saturday.) There are no shortcuts to good writing!@517

“Agriculture Is The Silent Poetry Of The Earth” – Unknown. “Now, Now,” I Say, “There Is Good And There Is Bad Poetry!”

“Agriculture is the silent poetry of the earth, written by the diligent hands of farmers” (Unknown), shared by Vale on Facebook I saw today, Tuesday, 19 Dec 2023. Vale is a global mining company; its slogan is, “We exist to improve life and transform the future” (Vale, vale.com). In this vale of tears, let’s see! 
(“Hand” from triumphtimes.com)

My first time to consider the earth in poetic language, so here I am googling for poems about agriculture in general – I pick Maya Anthony’s “The Plowman’s Song” from “10 Best Short Poems about Agriculture” (Nov 2023, EngDic, engdic.org).

A poet, Miss Maya wrote all those 10 poems; she says about the #3 poem: “This poem is an ode to the hardworking plowman, who prepares the fields for sowing, ensuring that the soil is ready to nurture life.”

3. The Plowman’s Song
With strength and might, he tills the ground,
The plowman’s song, a rhythmic sound.
Breaking earth, in furrows neat,
Making way for grains and wheat.
Forward, back, and then once more,
Sweat on brow, hands so sore.
But in his eyes, a gleaming pride,
For the soil’s secrets, he confides.
Though his labor may seem long,
He knows the land sings a fertile song.
For each furrow, deep and true,
Promises a life anew.

An agriculturist and a proselytizer for Regenerative Agriculture (RA), and so I note this:

Whether the farmer is planting a grain crop or wheat, he is “Breaking earth, in furrows neat … Forward, back, and then once more.” … “Though his labor may seem long” … He knows the land sings a fertile song / For each furrow deep and true.”

The farmer plows the field – in deep furrows.

That is where my fascination with this poem ends – as American gentleman farmer Edward H Faulkner puts it in the very title of his book published in 1943: “The Plowman’s Folly.” When you plow the field, the natural food relationship between the organic matter that enriches the soil is lost, and that is why you need chemical fertilizer! This is called Chemical Agriculture (CA).

If you have an open mind and/or done your research, you already know that it is the chemicals in the farms generated by CA that generate greenhouse gases (GHGs) that collectively generate Climate Change!

Now then, the more food we grow via CA, the more the climate turns against us and becomes dangerous to all humans!

Now then, the farmer hero of Miss Maya is the villain himself. And the motto of Vale – “We exist to improve life and transform the future together” – will never get the farmers (and the rest of humanity) out of the ravages of Climate Change!

With CA, the solemn promise of Vale – “We exist to improve life and transform the future” – cannot be delivered. In fact, the exact opposite will be delivered!

The life of this world will continue to deteriorate because of modern agriculture! Modern agriculture is The Silent Enemy Of The Earth!@517

Here’s To FORI! We Tried To Influence The Information & Publication World Of Forestry 1975-1980. If We Failed, It Wasn’t For Lack Of Trying!

Above, at the upper campus of UP Los Baños, the façade of the Forest Research Institute (FORI) building newly constructed in 1977(?); I describe the female figure now, revising a line from “The Rhodora” by Ralph Waldo Emerson – “If eyes were made for seeing / then innocence is its own excuse for being.”

I was one of the innocents beguiled by the promise of a new adventure in information & publication in the field of forestry. I worked there 1975-1980. Those were years before the Internet came to the Philippines. Those were years when I became The Editor In Chief of FORI.

In the Philippines, researches in forest production and forest products had hardly begun, even as Secretary of Natural Resources Arturo Tanco proclaimed the “irreversible decline” of PH’s forestlands. If silently, I took that man-made disaster as an intellectual challenge – our fight for the forests was our fight for our lives.
(“Fight” from pottonandburton.co.nz/)

The above image shows the name of the institution that replaced FORI, “Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau.” Only the name is new; the FORI building was constructed in the late 1970s yet.

FORI Director Filiberto S Pollisco fully supported me, more or less. I would describe now my FORI years as 100% original, 97% pleasant and productive – nobody’s perfect!

A graduate of UP College of Agriculture, now UP Los Baños, 1965, BSA major in Ag Edu, I taught myself creative typewriter-based writing, editing, producing publications.

Pete Bueno recruited me and assigned me to the Information Section under the Technical Services Division of FORI. I cannot stop thanking him for that appointment – and the complete trust he gave me as writer and editor and publisher.

It was I who originated the monthly newsletter Canopy, quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop, and quarterly color magazine Habitat. I was The Editor In Chief of each one; I originated each of those names – and no, I did not have any model to pattern any one of them. I have always been an original original.

Canopy – I encouraged every FORI staff to contribute to the newsletter. When articles were lacking, I wrote them myself using pseudonyms so that the newsletter would not look like the intellectual output of only one person! I also typed and proofread all the articles before we went to Abiva Publishing House to print the issues. No, not one issue was late! My assistant Rody Maningas and I were at Abiva to help expedite the publishing.

Sylvatrop – The complete name is “Sylvatrop, The Philippine Forest Research Journal, a quarterly. This is the very first such journal in the Philippines.

Habitat – The quarterly color magazine I patterned after the A-1 popular American National Geographic. Oh yes, I was one of the photographers.

With those FORI publications, my intellectual contributions to the publishing world are therefore FORI’s contributions to furthering science & communication in that discipline. Nobody can take that away from me!

FORI, today you may be gone institutionally but not intellectually.@517

BBM Has It Right Extoling The Department Of Agriculture’s Farm And Fisheries Clustering And Consolidation Program – And Why Should We Do It?

There is a logical contradiction when ANN reports, “PBBM Urges Agri-Fishery Stakeholders To Forge Partnerships, Pursue Clustering And Consolidation” (Author Not Named, 13 Dec 2023, DA, da.gov.ph) – and yet the news is coming from the “1st National Cluster Summit Of The Department Of Agriculture-Farm And Fisheries Clustering And Consolidation (DA-F2C2) Program” held 12 Dec 2023. A “summit on clustering & consolidation” means the farmers have been practicing clustering & consolidation and this is a chance to share with the others their rich and/or enriching experiences and improve executions. The event would have been more correctly titled, “1^st National Business Cluster Meeting Of Farmers & Groups.” That is to promote the adoption of farm clusters for efficiency in the business of agriculture. (And yes, farmers should take farming as a “business” and not simply a “way of life.”)

ANN says (13 Dec 2023, DA, da.gov.ph):

President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr expressed full support for the 1st National Cluster Summit of the Department of Agriculture-Farm and Fisheries Clustering and Consolidation (DA-F2C2) Program on December 12, 2023 to promote the adoption of clustering and consolidation strategy for stronger linkages among stakeholders.

I also encourage our fishers and farmers, investors, and other stakeholders to forge meaningful partnerships and wholeheartedly pursue clustering and consolidation so that the government can better serve your needs,” the President said in a message read by Undersecretary for Operations Roger Navarro.

“So that the government can better serve your needs” – the truth of the matter is that if farmers form clusters, 1^st, the farmers will serve their own needs better via economies of scale and, 2^nd, the govt (DA) can serve the nation’s needs better.

In a separate message, Senator Cynthia Villar highlighted that the government has a limited source of funds, “thus it is imperative that we encourage all farmers and fishers to adopt this strategy of clustering and consolidation” and optimize economies of scale.

ANN also says:

The F2C2 Program was established in 2020… to achieve and benefit from economies of scale, forge stronger linkages among producers to markets and global value chain, and improve the producers’ bargaining and market power. The program also seeks to establish better access to financing and investment sources and to domestic and export markets, ensure availability and use of technologies and facilities, encourage active “big brother-small brother” partnerships, and raise sector productivity and incomes of farmers and fishers.

With clustering, the farmers can pursue higher incomes, and the DA can pursue higher national needs. So, my personal advice to the DA is to pursue Regenerative Agriculture (RA) to solve Farmer Poverty and resolve Climate Change! I will keep repeating this:

RA helps solve Farmer Poverty because the total costs is low and the total returns is high. RA helps resolve Climate Change because, unlike Chemical Agriculture, RA does not generate greenhouse gases (GHGs) – it is the GHGs that generate Climate Change!

Farm clustering and/or consolidation with Regenerative Agriculture practices will finally show PH agriculture favorable for everyone!@517

BBM Says “Rice Is Life,” Meaning Filipinos Can’t Live Without Rice. Ah, The Editor In Chief Says It Should Be “Food Is Life”!

PH President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr says, “…I think it bears repeating that rice in our country means more than food. Rice in Asia, rice in the countries where it is the staple is in fact life" (Betheena Unite, 16 Oct 2023, “'Rice Is Life': Marcos Urges Gov't Agencies To Work With IRRI, Solve Rice Woes,” Manila Bulletin, mb.com.ph).

It goes without saying that the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and our very own Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) have been working their asses off the rice plant itself and the way/s it is/can be grown to benefit more the farmer and the rice eaters.

ANN says (Author Not Named, undated 2023, IRRI, irc2023.irri.org):

The International Rice Congress is a scientific platform for rice-based food systems innovators to work towards shaping a food- and nutrition-secure future. Convened by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) every four years, the Congress brings together scientists, experts, and decision makers from the government, private, and public sectors to formulate evidence-based solutions to some of the biggest challenges of the global rice sector.

Note: “Towards shaping a food-and nutrition-secure future.” Sorry IRRI; you yourself are not paying attention to what you are saying! The aim of the International Rice Congress (IRC) is “to work towards shaping a food- and nutrition-secure future” – rice is only part of that!

Sorry too, BBM Sir! The way you put it – “Rice is life” – is only half true; “Food is life” is 100% correct!
(“Food Is Life” from foodislifenutrition.com)

More so, if the Department of Agriculture (DA) actually assists all farmers in growing & managing not only rice but such as these crops: corn, peanuts, squash, etc; and such as these animals: carabao, cattle, goats, poultry, swine – then, the Secretary of Agriculture would be one of my National Heroes!

I will also insist that the DA embraces 100% Regenerative Agriculture (RA) for 2 reasons:

(1) RA helps solve Farmer Poverty (FP).
(2) RA helps resolve Climate Change (CC).

FP and CC are the Twin Goliaths of farmers whoever and wherever they are!

Today, Wednesday, 13 Dec 2023, I google both IRRI and PhilRice websites for “Regenerative Agriculture” and:

For IRRI, it is Bayer Crop Science talking! “Together We Can Sow The Seeds Of Regenerative Agriculture” (Jessica Christiansen, undated, irri.org).

For PhilRice? Zero!

In case IRRI and PhilRice are not familiar with the concept, Regenerative Agriculture is not hard science – these age-old & modern practices are examples of it:

1, Compost application; 2, Cover cropping; 3, Crop rotation; 4, Farm crops + tree crops (simultaneous); 5, Green manuring; 6, Intercropping; 7, Multiple cropping; 8, No-till farming; 9, Ratooning; 10, “Three Sisters” cropping (corn + beans + squash); 11, Trap cropping; and 12, Trash mulching.

As an agriculturist (UP Los Baños ’65) and a wide reader, I do not see any scientific reason why UPLB and IRRI are largely ignoring agricultural practices that regenerate the lives of farmers & their fields, not to mention Mother Earth!@517

Japanese Journalists Are Now Teaching World Scientists, And Communicators Like Me – If You Conserve The Plants Or Plant Parts, You Serve Mother Nature Best!

Here is our friend Nestor V Saludo’s sharing on Facebook 04 Oct 2023: “Japanese Newspaper Will Now Have Seeds So That They Can Grow Plants After Use.” This is the “Green Newspaper” invented by the Japanese daily “Mainichi Shimbunsha.“ This is a Japanese modern application of what American writer & humorist Mark Twain said: “Action speaks louder than words” – More than humor, this is journalism at its best!

On Facebook, Techly says:

In a remarkable step towards sustainability, Japanese newspapers are now going green in a whole new way! Starting today, these newspapers will come embedded with seeds, allowing them to transform into beautiful plants after use.

Imagine finishing your morning read, and instead of tossing the paper away, you can plant it and watch it grow into something vibrant and alive! It's a brilliant initiative to reduce waste and promote environmental consciousness.

This innovative approach not only conserves trees but also encourages everyone to get their hands a little dirty and connect with nature. Let's embrace this eco-friendly trend and turn our newspapers into mini-gardens.

In fact I say, as a Filipino, as a non-Nobel Peace Prize winner unlike Filipina Maria Ressa of Rappler, as the one-and-only “Outstanding Alumnus For Creative Writing” of UP Los Baños in its entire 100+ years history – “The Green Newspaper” is telling all journalists worth their salt, including the Japanese ones: “Communicate for the good of all – not for the bad of one!”

Lessons for:

(1)          journalists – “Don’t just report the news: practice it!”

(2)          Agriculturists & Foresters – “Save the crops & trees!”

(3)          Workers for Community Development – “Mother Nature knows best!”

Journalists the world over: “No more Truth Journalism!

Instead, practice something like what I call “Communication for Development of Vibrant Villages” (ComDev2, blogspot.com). Communities will be glad you did!

In fact, journalists owe it to them. Journalists owe it to the world that is now being devastated by Climate Change. And the “Green Newspaper” is telling you that we should return to Mother Nature what our farmers have been robbing her since the iron-bladed plow was invented by the Chinese in the 3^rd century (Robert KG Temple, Encyclopedia Britannica, computersmiths.com).

Modern cultivators, including rotavators, are operated so that the blades cut deep into the soil. Farmers see that as good agricultural practice – in fact, they are applying bad logic! Plowing brings up the infertile earth and buries richer topsoil.

Literally and ingeniously, I say: “The Green Newspaper shows that you must grow your seeds on top of organic matter!”

That, in fact, is a shortened lesson of Regenerative Agriculture (RA). For regeneration, you need seeds and a naturally rich soil.

And how do you get naturally rich soils? Practice any number of the following (not an exhaustive list):

1.     Agroforestry

2.     Applying compost

3.     Crop-livestock integration

4.     Intercropping

5.     Mulching

6.     Multiple cropping

7.     No-till farming

8.     Organic farming

9.     Relay planting

10. Three Sisters farming

When we practice Regenerative Agriculture, we regenerate our communities!@517

Still Missing – Vision For A “Masaganang Agrikultura, Maunlad Na Ekonomiya!” Where’s The Connection, Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr?

“Masaganang Agrikultura, Maunlad Na Ekonomiya” (MAME) appears on the website of the Department of Agriculture (DA); “Profitable Agriculture, Progressive Economy” – my MAME translation. That is now the territory of Interim Secretary of Agriculture Francis Tiu Laurel Jr confirmed by the Commission on Appointments (CA) Thursday, 05 Dec 2023. What then?

ANN says, “Agri Chief Gets CA Nod, Eyes Whole-Of-Nation Approach To Modernize Farm, Fisheries Sectors” (Author Not Named, 06 Dec 2023, DA, da.gov.ph). He had told the members of the CA, “Feeding 118 million Filipinos is a daunting yet ‘achievable goal’… to the modernization of the long-neglected agriculture sector.”

“Long-neglected agriculture sector” Sec Laurel says – he is wrong in condemning each Secretary of Agriculture before him, including past Interim Ferdinand Marcos Jr!

Actually, the “neglect” lies in not coming up with the Vision and the corresponding Mission of the DA.

So, Vision: Sustainability.
What’s the Mission?

Using the boat analogy, is it: “To steer as well as row the boat itself,” or “To steer the boat and let local government units (LGUs) do the rowing?”

What the DA has been doing is steering – and rowing – the boat simultaneously!

In his CA speech, Sec Laurel emphasized 2 things: sustainability and collective action, saying:

As  former chairman of the World Tuna Purse Seine Organization, I have seen firsthand the dire consequences of setting aside the issue of sustainability. Yet, sustainability encompasses every aspect of human existence, and thus needs the collective understanding, commitment, and action of every sector of society now and every day.

With that, I take it that Sustainability is Mr Laurel’s Vision and Collective Action is his Mission; that is, the DA steers while the LGUs rows the boat. Not what the DA has been doing all these years – steer & row simultaneously, and let the LGUs be damned!

Still, I have a quarrel with Sustainability – if we sustain the productive works that we do or can do in the farms, we will continue to suffer from Climate Change. What our farmers are practicing is Chemical Agriculture (CA), and it is CA that is generating those greenhouse gases (GHGs) coming from the farms and it is those GHGs that are causing Climate Change. Our farmers are our worst enemies!

Instead of Sustainability, I push for Regenerability, that is, the practice of Regenerative Agriculture (RA). RA works with Mother Nature, not against her.

The word “regenerative” is modern (1980s) but regenerability is historical, and can be found in these old practices (alphabetized)::

1, Compost application
2, Cover cropping
3, Crop rotation
4, Farm crops + tree crops (simultaneous)
5, Green manuring
6, Intercropping
7, Multiple cropping
8, No-till farming
9, Ratooning
10, “Three Sisters” cropping (corn + beans + squash)
11, Trap cropping
12, Trash mulching.

1. ”Compost application”, 5. ”Green manuring”, and 12. ”Trash mulching” are all operations to return to the soil what crops have taken from it: natural fertility is being replenished via natural materials, not chemical fertilizers.

If Sec Laurel does not appreciate that? Sorry!@517

Even If PH DA Were A Good Team, It’s Managing The Wrong Team! The Right Team Is “Food Security” & Not “Rice Self-Sufficiency”

An agriculturist and essayist, I must congratulate President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr for now recognizing the value of the “goal of a food-secure nation.” Has BBM’s advisers been reading the just-published book, “No Free Lunch,” by ex-NEDA chief Cielito F Habito? If not, they should!

My quote above comes from the news report by ANN (Author Not Named, 29 Nov 2023, “On PBBM Order, DA To Urgently Modernize Agriculture, Ensure Food Security” (da.gov.ph):

In a speech read by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. at Ugnay Palay: The 35th National Rice R4D Conference in Nueva Ecija on Wednesday (Nov 29), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said government is adopting a science-based approach to rice farming to increase yield and establish “a sustainable rice value chain.”

The DA aiming for a “Sustainable rice value chain” – good! What took you so long?!

“I am optimistic that all concerned government agencies, partners, and stakeholders will continue to explore ways to enhance existing agricultural technologies to improve and strengthen the rice industry, in line with our goal of a food-secure nation,” he said.

Finally? “With our goal of a food-secure nation” – that’s a mouthful, and a mindful – from BBM! His advisers now are waking up to the realities of PH agriculture vis-à-vis other countries but also about his erstwhile Department of Agriculture (DA).

I note 2 things there: BBM says PH is going after (1) “a sustainable rice value chain,” and (2) “food security.” The DA people are finally waking up?

Now, having read and reread Doc Ciel’s book “No Free Lunch,” what is missing is the DA leadership “steering the boat” (Doc Ciel’s language) while the local government units (LGUs) are “doing the rowing.” Today, the DA is the One-And-Only Team – it is doing the steering and rowing at the same time!
(“Good” from shutterstock.com, “Team” from potential.com)

I blogged Friday, “Missing The Right Leader Of PH DA – Doc Ciel Says DA Should Lead & Let The LGUs Directly Aid The Farmers. Else, I Say, History Repeats Itself!” (08 Dec 2023, Re-Discovering Heroes, blogspot.com). box

As of today, the DA is also implementing projects such as in the boondocks of Quezon Island when it should only be managing from Quezon City. That is the main lesson we get from Doc Ciel’s book – In the matter of projects, the DA should be the one dictating where the boat is going; the LGUs should be the rowers. Today? The DA people are also the rowers themselves. Unfortunately!

Note the very title of my 3^rd selection from Doc Ciel’s book: “Selections From The Book (3): Doc Ciel Says, “Food Security, Not Rice Self-Sufficiency!” (26 Nov 2023, The Editor In Chief, blogspot.com) where I quote Doc Ciel:

I’ve never said that the Philippines cannot be rice self-sufficient, as scientists and others often insist. The issue has always been: at what cost?

The problem I see is that the DA insists that it be the whole team! At what cost? No food security!@517

What Are Paintings For? “Beauty Is Its Own Excuse For Being!” – American Essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. “To Awaken In Us Our Sense Of Wonder” – Filipino Writer Frank A Hilario

I journalist write to awaken in us our common sense of society; differently creative, my son Paul Hilario paints as “A recollection of the past, a revelation of the present” (Facebook post, 05 Dec 2023, image above).

I never painted in my life, but since high school, I have loved reading about artists and authors, and savoring their outputs, not necessarily in that order. Of course, I remember “Mona Lisa” of Leonardo Da Vinci, a very famous portrait of a woman by a painter who is considered a genius.

Paul Hilario’s hero as a painter is Dutch Vincent Van Gogh, also a genius. Paul says in his Facebook post “Return To Roots: A Recollection Of The Past, A Revelation Of The Present” (Facebook post, 12 Dec 2023):

My first painting influence was Vincent Van Gogh.

Paul’s mother, my wife Amparo (Ampy) Reynoso, encouraged him when she saw her son’s “painting” our walls with his “artworks.” Ampy sent him to an art class nearby, and that has made all the big impressionistic difference. Thank God for mothers with big hearts!

My son’s paternal grandfather, Dionisio Hilario (“Papang” as we called him), was a rice farmer; Paul’s maternal grandfather, Gabriel Reynoso, was a commercial artist.

Paul also was a longtime curator of IRRI’s RiceWorld Museum & Learning Center. Today, on his left hand, Paul holds rice ripe with grains; on his right hand, a paintbrush. His grandfathers are alive in him!

I just love [Van Gogh’s] textures, colors, and the emotion that exudes out of his works. It was at [the University of the Philippines Los Baños], as I was taking up my Bachelor's in Microbiology, during an art appreciation class, where I first saw his works in more detail. Because I admired his works so much, naturally I wanted to paint like him.

From minute organisms to minute details of painting, from science to art – that doesn’t happen everyday. I’m exceedingly glad it happened to one of my 5 sons.

My kind of art has never left me, starting high school when I won an essay contest at the Rizal Junior College in my hometown Asingan, Pangasinan.

As a self-styled blogger, I illustrate each of my essays with images that I compose from my collection of photographs and Internet images from others, duly acknowledged. In my son’s case, he tells the story via a painting; in my case, I tell the story in words and try to summarize it via a composite image.

With a painting, the message may be different from viewer to viewer; with an essay accompanied by an image, the message should be the same, if partial to some and full to others.

“Return To ROOTS” (above image) – Of Paul’s 44 paintings mentioned, 3 are offered for a raffle: “From Green To Gold 1, 2 and 3.”. Each of the 44, he says, is priced at PhP 12,600. If you love paintings, actually they are priceless!@517

Wanted! Knowledge Bank For Anyone To Find Learning Scattered In Agriculture, And Teach Yourself Who, What, Where, When & How

If you care enough about knowledge in agriculture as applied in the Philippines – or elsewhere in Asia – you should find lessons in the book by Cielito F Habito, PhD (Doc Ciel), “No Free Lunch (Economics In Bite-Sized Pieces)”, now out (shop.inquirer.com.ph). Essentially an agriculturist, I have enjoyed reading it and been mentally enriched. Agree or not, you will learn more if you have an open mind.

In the chapters “Dar’s Paradigm Shift (August 9, 2019)” and “Managing Agriculture (August 13, 2019),” Doc Ciel says about his conversation with my favorite Secretary of Agriculture William Dar:

Our recommendation was to get away from DA’s persistent top-down management approach in favor of province-led devolution, based on the sound governance principle of subsidiarity: let the unit of government closest to… the problems on the ground be the ones to identify and implement the solutions. But the [Agriculture] Secretary flatly rejected this, actually wanting to recentralize farm extension…

As a self-styled “The Editor In Chief” (see title of my blog), I especially note: Mr Dar “actually wanting to recentralize farm extension” – and such “strong desire” gladdens me 100%!

Nota bene: We have the Provincial Agriculture Officer (PAO) and Municipal Agricultural Officer (MAO) assigned to the territorial local government units (LGUs) – now, where are the PAOs and the MAOs getting their extension materials and messages? Neither from the provinces nor the municipalities, surely.

I don’t know if Mr Dar mentioned to Doc Ciel in their conversation about a Knowledge Bank or Learning Center. When Mr Dar was still Director General (DG) of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) based in India (where he was DG for 3 terms or 15 years), he submitted to PH agriculture offices, via the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), his proposal for an “Open Academy For Philippine Agriculture” (OpAPA), in 2001. I happened to be a media consultant for PhilRice at that time, and OpAPA encouraged me much as an educator (UP Los Baños BS Ag Edu, 1965), and digital denizen, since 1991. Thus, I was inspired to brainstorm by myself to build OpAPA from scratch and produce the digital book “The Geography Of Knowledge” (TGoK, 198 pages), a digital copy of which I submitted to PhilRice c/o Roger Barroga, Information head of PhilRice, to help OpAPA come to reality and serve the digital users whether or not they were acquainted with technical terms in agriculture.

Some 21 years ago, TGoK was a revolutionary concept entirely out of my head – Mr Dar’s OpAPA did not come with instructions on how to build it – TGoK showed how the digital library for everyone could be constructed. A 4^th year high school student could then access the TGoK-based OpAPA because the Knowledge Bank is presented in both technical and non-technical terms – a revolutionary idea in itself (no, I did not copy the idea from anywhere or anybody, being a product of brainstorming by myself).

The LGUs cannot build such a Knowledge Bank in agriculture by themselves!@517