Jose Rizal – We Forgot That He Lived A Farmer’s Life, And He Was Extraordinary

June 19, the birthdate of our National Hero Jose Rizal, is notan official, no-work day in the Philippines. But I value it more than the date of death, 30 December – because the Spaniards killed his body but could not stifle his spirit of being a Filipino, the very first one to feel that way, and his legacy lives on! (images: Rizal’s nipa hut in Dapitan from Pusang Gala[1], Rizal & PH flag from STI[2])

I have done my own research on the lives and loves of Rizal, and in fact wrote and published in December 2005 a book titled indios bravos! subtitled Jose Rizal As Messiah Of The Redemption, 188 pages 8.5” x 11”, which I myself edited and did the desktop publishing work. It was a labor of love, as was Rizal’s labors when he was in Dapitan.

But I was pleasantly surprised when I reread his La Liga Filipina in “The Social And Political Ideas Of Jose Rizal As Expressed In His Writings,” a thesis presented to the Faculty of the Department of Spanish University of Southern California by Adrienne von Zelinski, August 1943. 131 pages, for a Master of Arts degree.

The surprise came in the list of the 5 primary aims of the Liga:

1.   To unite the whole archipelago into one compact, vigorous, and homogeneous body.

2.   Mutual protection in every want and necessity.

3.   Defense against violence and injustice.

4.   Encouragement of instruction, agriculture, and commerce.

5.   Study and application of reform.

#1, #2, #3 and #5 are radical enough, but I did not expect #4 – “Encouragement of instruction, agriculture, and commerce.” I forgot that when he was exiled to Dapitan in Mindanao, he lived there as a farmer. He got married too, to Josephine Bracken, a stranger from Hongkong who had accompanied Mr Taufer who visited Rizal for a medical purpose.

“Encouragement of instruction, agriculture, and commerce” – that today summarizes what Secretary of Agriculture William Dar is trying to do as head of the Department of Agriculture, DA, with 17 regional offices all over the Philippines. He calls it “The New Thinking For Agriculture” and supports it with what he calls “The 8 Paradigms”- and these are:

(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.

Moreover, My Hero! had a list of 15 Liga rules that all began with the word “Don’t” – and the last 6 should interest us greatly:

(10) Don’t abandon the poor man that has right on his side.
(11) Don’t forget those that although worthy have come to want.
(12) Don’t fail those without means that show application and ability.
(13) Don’t associate with immoral persons or with persons of bad habits.
(14) Don’t overlook the value to your country of new machinery and industries.
(15) Don’t cease at any time to work for the prosperity and welfare of our native land.

Wasn’t Jose Rizal great?!@517

 

 

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[1]https://jayexiomo.wordpress.com/tag/zamboanga-del-norte/

[2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=WOx-n5A4NjM

Sotto, Moreno, Robredo, Du30 & Briones Think Alike In Education – They All Need Education!

Surprised? This is a UP teacher alumnus speaking, self-taught digitally.

Above is a Facebook sharing by Nica Frencillo:

Pasig City prepares P1.2B for educational tablets, laptops (Daily Tribune)

Manila to spend P994M for tablets, laptops, data connection for students, teachers (GMA News Online)

Robredo office seeks gadget donations for online learning (ABS-CBN News)

Gov’t considers radios for alternative learning of poor students in far-flung areas (Manila Bulletin)

So, Mayor Vico Sotto of Pasig City and Mayor Isko Moreno of Manila are buying laptops for their students and teachers; and Vice President Leni Robredo is seeking donations for online learning – and President Rodrigo Duterte looks dejected that PH can only buy transistor radios for the remote students.

Si Duterte ba ay napag-iwanan ng panahon? Has Duterte been left behind the times? No! Actually, he is thinking exactly like Mayor Sotto, Mayor Moreno, Vice President Robredo – and the head of the Department of Education, DepEd, Leonor Magtolis Briones; they all think:

That education is simply Show & Tell – Who, What, Where, When, and Why to Think – not How to Think.

Even with all those free tablets and laptops, education is spoon-feeding: You, the student, this is good food for you, bite it well, swallow it, and remember the rest of your life.

The student is not allowed, not encouraged to think for oneself, because the teacher was not trained to teach like that!

Ms Briones and all those teachers do not know what they’re missing because they were all trained simply to follow instructions.

All schools from K to 12 to college would be exciting if the DepEd adopted and implemented Multiple Intelligences, MI, as the way to develop the learners into their best selves.

Instead, Ms Briones is thinking of “classic long-time approaches” to learning like free TV and radio programs. That is not learning, Madam – only filling empty vessels with what you think are important. You are treating the students like robots, just thinking exactly like they have been programmed to think. The teachers are teaching students not how to learn, not how to find out answers for themselves, not how to think for themselves.

In contrast, MI is the 37-year old educational theory of Harvard psychology professor Howard Gardner who posits that there are 9 intelligences in each of us:

(1) bodily-kinesthetic – body smart,
(2) existential – world smart,
(3) interpersonal – inner person smart,
(4) intrapersonal – people smart,
(5) linguistic – language smart,
(6) logical-mathematical – reasoning smart,
(7) musical-rhythmic – harmony smart,
(8) naturalistic – Nature smart,
(9) visual-spatial – relationship smart.

Just the listing and it gets exciting, right? Right!

We all have 9 intelligences, but our core genius may lie in only 1 of the intelligences – it is the job of the teacher to help the student find that single genius and nourish it.

If you applied the theory with each student, suddenly learning would become a much welcome activity! Why?

Because suddenly the student becomes a discoverer – s/he is going to discover himself/herself, where s/he is good at. If not, gadgets are only distractions!@517

World Food Prize Learns Its 33-Year Old Lesson In Soils! Black Revolution Vs Green Revolution

The news is that another Indian scientist, Rattan Lal, has just won the 2020 World Food Prize, WFP (ANN, 12 June 2020, “Rattan Lal: Meet The Man Who Took Inspiration From Shastras, Puranas To Help 50 Crore Farmers[1],” Live Mint). The very first scientist winner of the WFP, MS Swaminathan, also an Indian scientist, is the Father of India’s Green Revolution, winning in 1987, “for spearheading the introduction of high-yielding wheat and rice varieties to India’s farmers[2].’

And you know what?

On their own, those Indian scientists won the WFP by occupying completely opposite scientific poles on soil health for the growing of food!

Swaminathan was for the Green Revolution with its 100% reliance on chemically enriched soils;
Lal is for the Black Revolution (my term) with its 100% reliance on organically enriched, blackened soils. (superimposed image of soils from Ensia[3])

In 1968, when Mr Lal graduated from the Ohio State University, OSU, with his PhD in Soils, I was already a disciple of organic agriculture after reading and absorbing the contents of the 2 books of Ohio gentleman farmer Edward H Faulkner, Plowman’s Folly (published 1943) and Soil Development (1957). In 1968 when I taught at the College of Agriculture of Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao, I produced my own syllabuses to teach Horticulture in 4 subjects: Floriculture, Olericulture, Ornamental Horticulture, and Pomology – with organic agriculture written in from the ideas of Mr Faulkner. (You can ask Nicky “Right Livelihood” Perlas about them, as he was one of my A students at that time.)

Studying at the OSU for years, Mr Lal must have read the books by the Ohio gentleman farmer. To me, the original thinker of the Black Revolution (remember, it’s my term) is Mr Faulkner.

The WFP news make it appear that the Black Revolution in Mr Lal’s mind started within him and has lasted until today, no mention of anybody else’s ideas contributing to his thoughts, theories and experiences. This is a common problem with scientists and journalists when they fail to do background research first!

In any case, it is earth-shaking that the World Food Prize has given the exact same award to 2 opposing world views when it comes to agriculture and climate change! Chemical Agriculture vs Organic Agriculture.

The only problem with Organic Agriculture is that its proponents have made it "a religion,” in the words of PH Secretary of Agriculture William Dar. Such that in the Philippines, you have to be certified as an Organic Agriculture practitioner by a body after 5 years and paying thousands of pesos – which a poor farmer cannot afford.

What is wrong if the poor farmers practice organic farming without that certification, and just label or call their harvests “organically grown” or “naturally grown”? Then the poor farmers can become rich by the sweat of their brow waging the Black Revolution.

Thus I declare:

Practicing the Black Revolution, the poor farmers we shall not always have with us!@517

 

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[1]https://www.livemint.com/news/india/world-food-prize-rattan-lal-man-who-took-inspiration-from-shastras-puranas-to-help-500-million-farmers-11591935428304.html

[2]https://www.worldfoodprize.org/en/laureates/19871999_laureates/1987_swaminathan/#:~:text=Swaminathan,-INDIA&text=Dr.,rice%20varieties%20to%20India's%20farmers.

[3]https://ensia.com/features/soil-health/

PH Fertilizer Purchase: “We Saved P2.2 Billion” – Secretary Of Agriculture William Dar

“Overprice of P271 million,” farmers claim. “PH saved P2.2 billion,” DA counterclaims. Difference: Almost P2 billion in claim and counterclaim – are they based on the same givens?

No!

Forewarned is forearmed: Figures don’t lie, but liars will figure!

Here’s the Farmers’ Story. 

On Wednesday, 10 June 2020, Inquirer.net ran the report by Gabriel Pabico Lalu, “Farmers Claim Fertilizers Given As Part Of COVID-19 Aid Are Overpriced[1].” Mr Lalu quoted farmers William Laureta of Tarlac and Ernesto Agustin Domingo of Nueva Ecija as saying that the Department of Agriculture, DA, bought 1.811 million bags of urea fertilizer for a total cost of P1.8 million at P1,000/bag. The farmers claimed that the retail price of urea was only P850/bag, or a total overprice of P271 Million. (Above, superimposed image of farmers applying urea in the field, from Farming-Fertilizer[2].)

Here’s the DA Story:

Secretary of Agriculture William Dar says, in a memorandum to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, thru Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, that in fact the DA bought 5.69 million bags of urea at P1,000/bag and, by my (FAH’s) computation, saved the government at least P2.2 Billion!

As Carroll D Wright had said, “Figures don’t lie, but liars will figure.” I have known for 13 years William Dar personally, and I would never associate him with any shenanigan like overpricing a fertilizer purchase where even 10 dollars or pesos are involved. I was international consulting writer (work from home) of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, ICRISAT, based in India, where he was the Director General of ICRISAT for 15 years, from 2000 to 2014, when he retired. Among other things, the Indians knew a man of honor when they saw one!

Now, how do I explain the huge difference in the figures given?

The fact was that in December 2019, the average monthly dealers’ prices of urea, according to the Fertilizer & Pesticide Authority, were as follows: P1,054.88 (Luzon), P1,087.17 (Visayas) and P1,014.60 (Mindanao). What did the DA do? In his Memo to President Duterte, Secretary Dar said:

Setting the reference price at P1,000.00 per 50 kg bag of urea, the (Approved Budget for the Contract), ABC of P35,691,477,000.00, was set for the procurement of 5,691,477 bags of urea. which was presented during the pre-bid conference on 28 April 2020.

In a note, Secretary Dar told this reporter (FAH) that “in previous years, the DA regions were purchasing urea fertilizers at an average of P1,400 per bag.” That is to say, this year, the DA saved an average of P400 per bag; I say, with a total of 5,691,477 bags times P400 per bag, the DA saved the PH government a total of P2,276,590,800!

Now, to review the differing figures, with P1,000/bag of urea:

DA purchased 1,811,000 bags, P1.8 billion total – Farmers William Laureta & Ernesto Agustin Domingo

DA purchased 5,691,477 bags, P5.6 billion total – Secretary of Agriculture William Dar

Where in the world did Farmers Laureta & Domingo get their figures?! Your wild guess is as wild as mine!@517

 

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[1]https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1289580/farmers-claim-fertilizers-part-of-covid-19-assistance-overpriced

[2]http://scarlettxu1.blogspot.com/2013/07/urea-is-king-of-fertilizers.html

Maria Ressa Thinks Truth Journalism. Like Apple, I Think Different

Directed by Ramona Diaz, the docu on Maria Ressa titled “A Thousand Cuts,” according to Andrew Paredes, is “a compelling portrait of fearless journalism under threat[1]” (12 June 2020, ANC-X).

I can commiserate with Maria Ressa, but not encourage her.

I am not a graduate of any journalism-related course, and neither is Maria Ressa. So, where comes her “fearless journalism”? She had a BA in English from Princeton University, and certificates in theater and dance[2]. She was awarded a Fullbright scholarship to study political theater at UP Diliman – I don’t know what happened to that.

She does not say it, but I know the journalism Maria Ressa along with her Rappler group is playing – Truth Journalism. Not bad in itself, but when you go after the Truth, the people involved might go after you! “You have 5 hours left.” You are lucky if you get a warning like that!

Maria Ressa is a self-taught journalist, and her practice is mostly art. I am a self-taught journalist myself, an agriculturist, and my practice is mostly science.

Our essential difference is that Maria Ressa practices Truth Journalismwhile I practice THiNK Journalism (hence my blog title).

In Truth Journalism, you get your highs going after and writing dangerously about facts.

The problem with Truth Journalism is that there is no higher aim than the Truth. The end of the journalistic journey is the Truth.

I have a loftier goal. Truth is only the beginning of my T_H_i_N_K Journalism. Journalism that THINKs first and last:

True is it? I have discovered the Bad Truth. Now, am I going to disseminate it to the people so that the person(s) concerned will be condemned by society? That is not THiNK Journalism!

Helpful is it? Even if it seems True, I will still ask the question: “Is it Helpful to make that Truth known in society?”

Inspiring is it? If that Truth seems Helpful, I will still ask the next question: “Is it inspiring to make it public?” If not, stop.

Necessary is it? Even if that Truth is Inspiring, I will still ask the next question: “Is it necessary to publicize it?” If I don’t see a social good, I will not make it known to the people.

Kind is it? So, it is True, Helpful, Inspiring & Necessary – but is it Kind? If not, bury it!

You see, THiNK Journalism calls for another kind of bravery: Intellectual.

If you don’t like what happens to you in your pursuit of the Truth? It’s your fault!

As a journalist, why do you count your cuts instead of your joys?

Know that I am not a Duterte diehard, but he has made me happy enough with 2 of his decisions. One, the Federalism proposal – I believe in it essentially. Two, his appointment of Secretary of Agriculture William Dar, a man I believe is the most deserving and has so far proved to be the best head of the PH Department of Agriculture. What more do I want for my country?!@517

 

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[1]https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/movies/06/13/20/the-3-minute-review-a-thousand-cuts-is-a-compelling-portrait-of-fearless-journalism-under-threat

[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Ressa

Farmer Filled School, FFS² – My Reinvention Of The FFS Of 1987

We are living in a digital world, the most promising stage of human life ever – despite the fact that it is the most dangerous.

I am an agriculturist. 79. I don’t remember being excited about agriculture, but now I am, despite the lockdown. Now the farmers can live virtual lives too!

In 1987, we are told the FAO designed and managed the first Farmer Field School[1], FFS, in Indonesia. (above, main image from Oxfam[2])

In 1997, at home in the Philippines, we had our first Internet connection. It has been 33 years since the FFS was invented; it has been 23 years since our first Internet home experience:

It makes me wonder why nobody has ever thought of harnessing the wonders of the information superhighway by digitizing the FFS and teaching the farmers online wherever they are whenever they have the time no matter how many they happen to be!

So today, I am the one reinventing the 1987 Farmer Field School, FFS, into the Farmer Filled School of 2020, FFS², where filled is the acronym for:

Farmer-centric
The course runs for only 5 days, not season-long as the FFS was designed. The digital recording will telescope the time for the farmers who are not referred to as trainees(don’t know anything) but as learners (would like to know more).

Inclusive
Covered is the whole value chain, from seed to spoon, from inputs to outputs to outcomes. Where the farmer learner is a member, his coop is the manager of his farming, from loans to marketing.

Location-specific
The course can be adjusted to cover the different field conditions and variety of crops where farmers are working with – especially previous soil, water, pest and disease conditions.

Learner-conscious
There are no embarrassing quizzes or question-and-answer sessions. Each participant is given the time to learn more about what s/he wants.

Experiential and Electronic
It is all digital, but the experiences of other farmers and the results of researches are all captured in moving images.

Demand-driven.
Farmers can learn from recordings of crops that they are interested in, whether scheduled during the FFS² sessions or not.

Other characteristics of FFS² are the following:

Information-rich: The learner is given texts with accompanying views and/or sounds, and is urged to find out more. It is a situation where curiosity fills the cat!

Learning situation-designed: It leaves room for the learner to find out what it is all about, not simply a show-all-tell-all presentation. The learner is encouraged to present his own interpretation of what he sees and/or hears.

Mass-oriented: The language used is understandable by the locals. Thus, a technical term is translated and/or described in terms of the everyday experience of the farmer audience.

Above, the superimposed composite image is my Windows 10 collage of 26 April 2018. The images show different fields and views, including at the bottom right a “ghost,” a faint image of a lady of inspiration.

Now, about virtual teaching & learning, if the Education people are intelligent, they can learn from Agriculture!@517

 

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[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmer_field_school

[2]https://www.sdhsprogram.org/tool/plot-design-for-pvs-illustrated-module-for-ffs-facilitators/

12 June 2020, PH Declaration Of Independence From Hyperbole Of Media & Exaggeration Of Poultry Leaders!

Above, the reason I have the logo of the United Broilers Raisers Association, UBRA, is that UBRA President Elias Jose M Inciong has been news-noisy about poultry products that the Philippines imports from other countries. The UBRA wants imports to stop, period. Otherwise, the UBRA considers the Bureau of Animal Industry, BAI, enemy of UBRA. Here comes PH mass media saying that the BAI is favoring the foreign poultry raisers and disfavoring the local. Since the BAI is an agency of the Department of Agriculture, DA, the news really means that the DA, now under Secretary of Agriculture William Dar, is favoring the importers and not the local producers. A hard slap on the public face of the DA.

Is that a fact? BAI Director Ronnie Domingo had told UBRA to “self-regulate,” meaning correct the misbalance of supply and demand in various areas of the country considering the lockdown. Mr Domingo said that the Philippines cannot simply suspend imports which is what poultry raisers want, because PH has member-commitments with the World Trade Organization, the same which explains the unwelcome necessity of the Rice Tariffication Law. We have to follow international laws.

BAI Director Ronnie Domingo also said:

There is really oversupply in other areas. To solve that, we need industry self-regulation, for (UBRA) to spread out so that even if one place is in quarantine, there will be supply in the other areas.

Actually, UBRA will not stop talking until the DA-BAI stops poultry importation. That is like the UBRA saying, “The chicken meat lovers will have to bear the undersupply of poultry products until we can produce enough for the country.” That is not holding only the DA but the whole country as poultry hostage!

The UBRA open letter says, “There is an oversupply of broilers in the market (that has) gravely damaged the poultry industry. ” Actually, that is only half-true – there is an oversupply in some parts of the country and an undersupply in other parts. And it is UBRA’s failure! What the DA-BAI was saying is that the UBRA should manage the overall supply situation and not rely on the government. UBRA cannot blame the DA-BAI for its own supervisory failures!

So now you know why I created this new blog of mine, THiNK Journalism, https://ithinkjournalism. blogspot. com – to wage a “silent revolution” on negative reporting by the mass media and negative thinking by farmer leaders especially in agriculture.

UBRA wants poultry product importation stopped. This is not a simple stop-and-go demand because about 70% of the importation consists of mechanically deboned meat, MDM, fats, offals and rinds. The MDM is used as raw material for meat processors and not locally available.

In its indignation reaction, the UBRA is ignoring what the BAI has presented as short-, medium- and long-term plans – UBRA, if you don’t know them, ask the DA!

Meanwhile? The UBRA has to develop a national system that guides the location, schedule and volume of UBRA production in various regions.

Dapat uobra yan, UBRA!@517