Climate-Focused Agriculture With Farmer-Focused Farming, Thinking About Climate Change And Farmer Adjustments – Where Is Ruben L Villareal Here?

Above reads the title of a paper by much-honored Ruben L Villareal (Facebook sharing by Jovita Movillon) – “Food And Wood Manufacturing: Current Status, Issues, And Recommendations,” 19 April 2025. I knew Dr Villareal as a good scientist limited to Botany in the 1950s, and so I am surprised he talks much good Science-Society Sense today!

The sharing is based on Dr Villareal’s 2013 own paper “Food and Wood Manufacturing: Current Status, Issues, and Recommendations” as a member of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST). Here is the abstract:

The food manufacturing industry continues to be among the biggest and most active industries in the country, valued at PhP 977.2 billion in 2012. However, there are issues and concerns (that) the science community may be able to address. This paper aims to examine the food manufacturing sector to develop a technology-explicit road map for processed food products that would guide collaboration among government and private stakeholders...

For the stakeholders, Dr Villareal prescribes a “technology-explicit road map.”

Dr Villareal says, “The three major concerns are supply of raw materials, technology, and food safety.” I add 2 more: “They must all be environment-friendly and investment-attractive.”

Personally, I say that if we pescribed Regenerative Agriculture (RA), it will resolve the five concerns above.

(1) RA offers ready materials in crops for growing.

(2) RA technologies have all been proven workable throughout the ages!

(3) RA rejects chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides – RA produce is safe, safe, safe!

(4) RA is environment-friendly – no poisons here.

(5) RA is investment attractive – costs very little, returns very much!

The RA list I have is this (alphabetical):

(1) Cover Cropping,
(2) Crop Rotation,
(3) Farm Crops + Tree Crops (Agroforestry),
(4) Green Manuring,
(5) Intercropping,
(6) Multiple Cropping,
(7) No-Till Farming,
(8) Organic Fertilization,
(9) Ratooning,
(10) Rotational Grazing,
(11) “Three Sisters” Planting,
(12) Trap Cropping, and
(13) Trash Mulching.

But the outright & strict national practice of RA is not that simple. And so we need a Roadmap to get there.

Stakeholders who participated in the NAST-sponsored round-table discussions on food manufacturing identified … the three major concerns (as) supply of raw materials, technology, and food safety. (I say, RA satisfies all three!)

Again from Prof Villareal’s paper:

The following were recommended to address these concerns: (l) small farm holdings should be consolidated for economy of scale; (2) concerned agencies should strictly enforce food safety regulations; (3) (industry) partners should provide research and scholarship funds to supplement the meager (government) funds for the training (on) new crop, animal and food scientists and extension workers, and (4) use science and technology, and economics in promulgating investment-friendly policies to attract both local and foreign investments.

I’m much interested in small farm holdings being consolidated for economies of scale: Dr Villareal gave that specific advice 12 years ago but we have ignored it – why?

From the ground level, businesses are facilitated and safety & quality standards enforced.

Yes Sir! Dr Villareal – Your wish should be our command!@517