Healthy Farms for Healthy Foods

Thursday morning, 29 April 2021, at about 0830 hours, I read Ron Amos Jr’s “The Need For A Cultural Revolution” as his “Transit Dialog” Facebook post, all 722 words excluding byline, and I have been moved to respond via this essay – because what Mr Amos is sharing is 100% problem and 0% solution! Mr Amos says: What we need is to reimagine and reinvent the country and ourselves: a cultural revolution that will create not only our identity but also our unified spirit. How we do it is by transitioning from the medieval age of rule by influence, wealth, creed, and power towards a society that willingly balances the individual and the community, freedom and restraint, and privileges and duties. How do we do ALL that? Mr Amos is not saying. The best that he says towards a solution is this, “A Call To Action:” So as not to point fingers, we all start within ourselves – our backyards, bloodlines, and even barkadas. Our leaders need a change of mind from preserving their status quo to favo

Let me deal with the YES first. Yes, CEO of Rappler Maria Ressa is going to receive a world-class award in a few days, the “UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize for 2021.” The source of the news is ANN (Author Not Named, “Rappler’s Maria Ressa Gets Prestigious UNESCO Press Freedom Award [1] ,” Rappler.com ). UNESCO made the announcement on Tuesday, 27 April. She will receive the award on Sunday, 02 May – the World Press Freedom Day will be celebrated the day after, Monday, 03 May. She won the World Press Freedom Prize for her previous & present “unerring fight for freedom of expression,” ANN says. She is “set to receive a prestigious press freedom prize from UNESCO for her fight for free speech in the Philippines, serving as a model for journalists under siege around the world.” The UNESCO prize, worth $25,000, “recognizes outstanding contributions to the defense or promotion of press freedom especially in the face of danger.” Let me deal with the NO next. No, Mari

When PH Secretary of Agriculture William Dar was Director General of the India-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), January 2000-December 2014, ICRISAT’s slogan was, “Science with a human face.” (But this is getting ahead of our story.) Above, dated 26 April 2021, Mr Dar presents his thoughts on “ Sulong Pilipinas: Partners For Progress” (Push Forward Philippines ) virtually in “A Pre-SONA Economic Development and Infrastructure Clusters Forum.” Mr Dar says: Despite no respite from the rage of the so-called “Perfect Storm,” the Department of Agriculture (DA) remains undaunted by the challenges confronting the farm and fishery sector(s), staying focused, believing that the current crisis also presents opportunities for innovation, transformation, and regeneration. That is, amid the “Perfect Storm,” he says, in reference to climate change; what he is presenting via the DA is a system-wide Climate Change in PH Agriculture . Mr Dar nee

Above, on Facebook, Rappler is quoting, “While this shift seems to favor PR, in reality it has resulted in declining trust in news, and that’s bad for everyone.” The caption of the image is the title of the article: “Stopping Misinformation Means Fixing The Relationship Between Journalism And PR [1] , ” which is a reprint from the Australian-led digital media The Conversation ’s article by Canadian Jaigris Hodson dated 22 April 2021. The lead says, “While this shift seems to favor PR, in reality it has resulted in declining trust in news, and that’s bad for everyone.” Mr Hodson is an Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Royal Roads University, Victoria, BC. So? Australian, Canadian and Filipino thoughts in journalism: Same, same. New words, old ways. Clearly, Rappler and The Conversation are worried about their journalism being taken over by public relations (PR), but they are not worried about their lack of public relevance (PR 2 ) – my brainchild. As a creativ

Above, top image, the Antique ricefield looks very promising in yield. Here is the story as shared on Facebook by PhilRice (my translation in English): TINGNAN! Unang palayan sa Sta. Ana, Tibiao, Antique na natamnan ng 60kg binhi kada ektarya sa pamamagitan ng sabog-tanim. Look! First ricefield in Santa Ana, Tibiao, Antique that was planted with 60 kg seeds per hectare by way of broadcasting. Sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon, natunghayan ng mga magsasaka sa nasabing lugar na kayang-kaya ang 60kg kada ektarya gamit ang seed spreader machine (granular applicator) at certified seeds mula sa RCEF. For the first time ever, farmers in that area witnessed that 60 kg/ha is quite enough using a seed spreader machine (granular applicator) and certified seeds from RCEF. Makikita sa larawan na magaganda ang naging tubo at mabubulas ang mga itinanim na palay. What can be seen in the picture is beautiful growth of and robust rice plants. Ayon sa ulat, namangha ang mga magsasaka rito na kaya pala

Youth, I say, if you want to get rich, in any field from Agriculture to Zumba, you have to teach yourself wisely – by listening! (recolored iPod image [1] from Shutterstock ) Why? On Facebook, 14 April 2021, my digital entrepreneur son Jomar is talking to anyone interested in becoming richer becoming a virtual careerist (VC), and I am surprised with his advice: “Why You Shouldn't Start Small.” And I thought: So shouldn’t young farmers. Someone says, “Jomar, I want to start small in my journey to upgrade my mindset.” Jomar says, “That’s the thing most people, already living a small life, want – to start small & slow. Let me tell you. you’ve already done it.” We have always been doing things small, so we remain what? Small. You have “to level up in mindset,” Jomar says. “You need to level up in action.” Why not simply read a Success Book? Because when you fail, you can’t repeat “Read another Success Book” – and expect a different result! Jomar says, ‘The Success Journey is a

The Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) is not preparing to celebrate its 34 th anniversary tomorrow, 25 April 2021? Nonetheless, here is my congratulatory note: From what I learned since 2012:  ACPC, you are credible, creditable, incredible! The Executive Director of ACPC today is Jocelyn Alma R Badiola . Here she is with an undated message on the ACPC websit e [1] : The ACPC strives for continued improvement in our information and communication strategy, of which the ACPC Website (www.acpc.gov.ph) is an important component. The use of the Internet in attaining widespread dissemination of information is inarguably the most efficient and effective means today. Yes Ma'am, as an old blogger I agree. But I have a reservation about your publication titled Agri Finance Magazine . Your latest is the January-June 2020 issue. The last 2020 issue is not yet out, and as an Editor In Chief in the last 45 years, with digital skills that include writing, editing, photography, deskto

Angela Celis has come out with a Malaya report, “Innovation Should Focus On Agri To Sustain Growth” (22 April 2021), starting with these words: “Innovation work moving forward should focus on the agriculture and manufacturing sectors to sustain the country’s long-term economic growth, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).”  Miss Angela is reporting on PH’s 1 st National Innovation Day virtual event 21 April 2021; she quotes Karl Kendrick Chua , Director General of NEDA as saying: Instead of simply assembling products and using ideas that were generated from other countries, we have to now gradually shift to a new framework where the ideas are coming from within the country, from within our human resources. Mr Chua is saying something like this: “No borrowing of innovation from other countries. We Filipinos can do the innovating ourselves to bring about the next level of economic development.” I agree. Then Mr Chua says, “We have several bright Filipin

  This note comes from me, not from American journalist Neil deGrasse Tyson ; I just needed the sign “The problem with science journalism.” In America, they have different and bigger problems in journalism! We think big; they think Bigger. (image [1] from Big Think ) Mentioning neither the name of the PH journalist here, nor sex, the news story is titled “DoST Bares 100 Completed Innovation Projects Amid Covid-19 Pandemic [2] ” that appeared in the Manila Bulletin issue of 22 April 2021. (DoST is the Department of Science & Technology.) It’s technically wrong. The journalistic mistake is right there in the headline of the story, in this phrase: “100 Completed Innovation Projects.” But you cannot fully appreciate the error in reporting unless you know more of the standard operating procedures (SOP) of science. Let me now quote the first paragraph (with editing): The…Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) bared Thursday

Today, Thursday, 22 April 2021, is designated worldwide as “Earth Day.” Did you know 2021 is 50 years since Earth Day 1970? Today is exactly half a century; what can we celebrate? Nothing to be proud of! Even the website earthday.org is not celebrating, just listing the years of events or something. What we have is a static Earth Day! (Original “Earth Day” imag e [1]  from PNGhut.com ) “Earth Day 1970 gave a voice to an emerging public consciousness about the state of our planet.” Now, 50 years later, that voice may be louder, but it’s still just a voice crying in the wilderness of nonchalance, non-science. “30 years on, Earth Day 2000 sent world leaders a loud and clear message: Citizens around the world wanted quick and decisive action on global warming and clean energy.” Nothing doing. “As in 1970, Earth Day 2010 came at a time of great challenge for the environmental community to combat the cynicism of climate change deniers, well-funded oil lobbyists, reticent politicians, a di

Photographs are not only important in what I do – which is communication for development (ComDev) – they are necessary . You cannot communicate development without photographs! Today, Friday, 16 April 2021, after about 3 hours, I finalized assigning to folders by subject matter my 21-year collection of digital photographs totaling 16,500 plus. In ComDev, which I invented in 1980, a creative writer must be a photographer himself. Now, do you necessarily intently study how to compose each shot in taking a picture? Not if you have a digital camera like mine – Lumix FZ100   with Intelligent Auto (IA) – you just point and shoot. What about lighting and focus and speed? The IA takes care of all those. I bought my camera for P 19K cash early 2012, and it’s still good. (In any case, it paid for itself immediately because I had a one-man contract to produce a coffee-table book – write, edit, take more photographs, do the layout up to desktop publishing next to commercial printing. That was t

On 27 January 2021, the press release came out from the Department of Agriculture (DA) titled “DA Taps State Schools For Food Security Policy Research Projects [1] , ” data-gathering efforts commonly aiming at creating a regional database for agricultural and rural development, urgently for national food security. The collaboration is another initiative of the DA under its Agriculture Dialogue and Information Network Groups (ADING) Program “that aims to further strengthen and improve public trust and confidence in the Department.” Note: “Ading” in Ilocano means “younger sibling.” Now, not only the aim but the name is perfect – I am thinking of the 17-year old proposal of Mr Dar himself that he called “ Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture” (OpAPA), which he advocated in 2003 when he was still Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) – with ADING and OpAPA 2021, we have a family of science knowledge banks with Mr Dar as fathe

  Heart & Earth : “Hearth of Agriculture.” That is my personal title for the mounted art you see above in a photograph I took 29 July 2016 at UP Los Baños. It’s actually a 4-piece sculpture that only now I see symbolizes the agri science needs of the 4 corners of the Philippines. This essay has been prompted by a Facebook sharing today, Thursday, 15 April 2021 by retired but not-retiring UPLB Professor Teodoro Mendoza stating, “Am reposting this, that means I fully agree.” The author of the straightforward notes shared, Santiago R Obien (SRO) , is the founding Executive Director of PhilRice and today is National Technical Adviser on Rice; I reproduce SRO with editing: Let's Grow Our Own Rice, No Matter The Cost I have always held the position that the Philippines must produce enough rice for all and keep a reserve for at least a 6-month supply. Our Target: No reliance on imports for the staple food! We have the technologies to do it. What is needed is decisiveness on the

Writer Frank A Hilario is highly original, yes. Creative, he invented Communication for Development (ComDev) 40 years ago when he was Editor in Chief of Habitat , a deliberate look-alike of the American National Geographic, published by the Forest Research Institute based at UP Los Baños. Today, from him, you can improve your writing by learning a lesson or two in photography! Now look closely at my photograph above, digitally transformed into 3 parts: trees, ground of grass, flowers. That’s how your story looks like usually: Promising but failing to deliver! Inspired by Ernie in Sesame Street , your first lesson in writing is that a story has 3 major parts: Beginning, Middle, End . Equivalents in your story: Foreground, Field , and Background . Note that the Foreground should be Attractive – a mix of colors growing, as if celebrating their sight of the Field. In the above image, I clouded it up so that you will get the picture! The usual news story today is either negative or sho