Agriculture Today Is The Biggest Media Challenge – How Can Journalists Cultivate Fertile Minds?


I see the new PH Agriculture under the leadership of Secretary of Agriculture William Dar/Manong Willie as the biggest challenge to Philippine journalism – many-layered, complicated. Simplifying: If farming is growing food, journalism is growing ideas in a fertile mind!

I thank God I’m running 80. Now, how could I have been blogging about PH Agriculture every single day since the middle of last year when I am essentially a work-at-homer? “There is no unfertile soil with a fertile mind.”

How do I cultivate my mind to stay fertile?
Easy – I read. And read. And read.
So I can be Good, Better, Best!

(Above, superimposed image of some books to read/review in my bedroom-workroom.)

In this digital age, as a journalist you must always collect enough background materials; save your files, then read them. Read, not memorize. (In Microsoft Word, turn on Track Changes – click Review, Track Changes – and write down your thoughts as you read. You go back to them when you begin to write your article.)

Guaranteed: Just reading will make that unfertile mind of yours a very fertile soil.

Actually, Salvador Cariaga of Philippine Organic Farms, the one who is sharing (on Facebook, above) about unfertile soils and fertile minds, is speaking about producing food and fighting poverty[1]. (Main image from same source)

Mr Cariaga’s group is into urban agriculture. They are into growing food and managing garbage at the same time – 2 noble ideas, enriching: garbage becomes organic fertilizer; environment becomes sound; our bodies become healthy.

There’s more. There is a MUD Farm in Cebu – Mactan Urban Demo Farm[2]:

It's a school without walls and classroom without ceiling. Sky is the limit. With God nothing is impossible. ¶ Even if you live in (a) concrete jungle, you can still grow your own food. You won't need a lot of space. Our MUD Farm is just 300 square meters, but it has pig farm, goat farm, chicken farm, fish farm, worm farm, and all the vegetables that a family can eat.

Urban. Unbelievable? You have to believe.

Now, what about our poor farmers in the rural areas? Unfortunately, MUD Farm ignores them:

We believe that we do not have to be poor. Our children don't have to be hungry. We live in a rich country. We can bloom where we are born and grow where we are planted. There is no unfertile soil with a fertile mind. There is no barren land, only (a) bare mind. MUD Farm is designed to inspire those who live in urban areas to grow their own food, the organic way.

Yes, Mr Cariaga misses his own point – “There is no unfertile soil with a fertile mind.” Unlike him, I will now also and equally urge those who live in rural areas to grow their own food the organic way.

And journalists? Your mind is barren only if you do not grow ideas in it. And the best thing to do to grow ideas is? Read, read, read. To be Good, Better, Best!@517





[1] https://www.facebook.com/groups/philippineorganicfarms/about/
[2] https://www.facebook.com/UrbanDemofarn/posts/1009174225771459

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What’s Your 1K Worth Today? My 1K Is Worth Love In Communication For Village Development In The 21st Century (CoViD21)!

Image
Today, Friday, 02 Sept 2022, I post this essay as the 1000 th in this blog “CoViD21” – short for “Communication for Village Development in the 21st Century.” Blogging since 2000, I have decided to dedicate myself unrelentingly to village development – an area much neglected. Actually, the 999 essays published before this one appeared in my blog “ Towards A New Eden” but which I have come to the conclusion that building a New Eden is too much of a promise, and developing villages is a dream within one’s reach in a lifetime. The development of villages I have in mind is via Regenerative Agriculture (RA). Rodale Institute introduced the term “Regenerative Organic Agriculture” in 1989 “to distinguish a kind of farming that goes beyond sustainable” (undated, Rodale Institute, rodaleinstitute.org ). So, I now believe that “Sustainable Development” is inadequate! We must go after “Regenerative Development,” especially via Agriculture. At this point, I must say that the application of org
Read more

Knorr Of Big Business Unilever Thinks Big Business Regenerative Agriculture – My Tiny Country PH Also Should!

Image
“Knorr’s plan for 50 regenerative agriculture projects is predicted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water use by an estimated 30% while improving biodiversity, soil health and livelihoods.” That is regenerative agriculture (RA) news by Julian Cirineo (05 Nov 2021, “Unilever Wants To Rethink How Farms Work To Secure Food And Resources For The Future,” Rappler , rappler.com ). Note: 50 (not 5 only) RA projects to improve greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and water use by 30% – plus improving biodiversity, soil health and livelihoods. Note the last 7 words in the above paragraph. How can RA improve biodiversity? RA requires that the farmer practices multiculture (a few or many crops grown at the same time in the same place), where monoculture (such as rice-only or corn-only) is the practice – the biodiversity improves crop health because of the ensuing balance of nature, such as some organisms feed on other organisms that would otherwise become pests or cause diseases. RA is your
Read more

How Do We Celebrate “World Environment Day?” 2 Related Answers: “We Believe Farming Is The Biggest Job On Earth” – BASF. “Everyday Is Environment Day For Me!” – Frank A Hilario

Image
We have ignored “World Environment Week” and it’s time to pay attention to it. All the more reason because wars of all kinds are going on all over the world, and I am scientifically convinced that the kind of environment we have, or the kind we cultivate, propagates such wars. The inclusive date for “Environment Week” according to Jenica Dizon is 20-27 March (upper image). Differently, the Government of Virgin Islands says it’s 04-10 June (lower image from   bvi.gov.vg via YouTube). What? We don’t even have a single inclusive date! We mortals do not care much about our environment to celebrate it, do we? Not the issue of the inclusive dates, what I want to tackle here is what we mortals can commonly do to truthfully celebrate World Environment Day/Week. The above image I saw on Facebook, the post “Be Green, Be Great” by Waves For Water Philippines Country Director Jenica Dizon, “highlights the importance of caring for issues facing our environment.” I have always cared much abou
Read more