Healthy Farms for Healthy Foods

  Can you connect PH’s Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) with National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and indigenous peoples (IPs)? Yes: Think water, watershed, wetland, wetness, wellness! (Composite image: top from DA ZAMPEN [ 1] Facebook sharing by Noel Ocampo Reyes , botto m [2] from Weebly.com, and middle [3] f rom PGS Pilipinas Facebook sharing) The NIA held a public consultation 25 June 2021 in Mabini, Pangasinan about constructing a dam in that town ( Eva Visperas , 29 June 2021, “Dam Project In Pangasinan Town Opposed [4] , ” PhilStar.com ). Mayor Ariel de Guzman said Mabini would have only minimal benefits, while damages and destruction to natural resources would be much: the river would die, and landslides would occur. As an agriculturist and a communicator for development in the last 40 years, I say the NIA should think of sustainable development first of all – Is your program or project t echnically feasible? and economically viable? and envi

Ninoy: “The Filipino is worth dying for.” Cory: “The Filipino is worth living for.” Noynoy: “The Filipino is worth fighting for.” (See my essay, “3 Aquinos, Family Three Heroes, Pinoy Three Musketeers – Leaders Showing The Ways [1] ,” 28 June 2021, Brave New World , Blogspot.com ). I say now, “The Filipino is worth writing for!” No excuses myself. A full-blooded Ilocano, in American English I have been a self-learning communicator for the Filipino in the last 46 years: since 1975 writing, editing, photographing and publishing in print; and since 2005, blogging. Why the lag of 30 years? Starting 1986, I have been on digital self-study 100%. Above image is Google’s digital record of my blogging, screen capture 18 August 2014. Since 2005, I have blogged at least 6,000 essays totaling at least 6 million words: Frank A Hilario is the world’s most creative blogger! 60+ years ago, my ways of how to write and on what subjects came from my free and avid reading of books and magazines in

Love at first sight! I loved the above image (shared by Ann Gatmaytan, by Jovy Acosta-Nisperos ) of an umbrella with painted images of The 3 Aquinos that I call here a combined “Will of the Spirit” that makes me think of “Father, Son & Holy Goose.” Father Ninoy Aquino said, “The Filipino is worth dying for.” From Boston, Mass, hero flew back home – and landed on the tarmac of the Manila International Airport, shot dead. During his funeral march, 1 million lined the streets of Manila. My hero! Mother Goose proved that “The Filipino is worth living for.” Mother Cory is “holy” because she was revered; and “goose” is perfect for her, as Spirit Animal say s [1] : “ Goose gives a loud warning when danger appears. Bundling this all together gives Goose the meaning and symbolism of communication, fidelity, parenting, fertility, and Providence. ... When that happens, another Goose in the flock stays with the injured bird until they can fly again, or die.” Isn’t that perfect?! Mother

The poor image of the book cover, copied as-is from the original, tells this writer, editor & publisher that Elsevier does not care much about common citizens clearly catching climate change concepts. Sadly, they are selling the book without telling a main message. Titled Climate Change Science and subtitled Causes, Effects And Solutions For Global Warming , the book is edited by David SK Ting & Jacqueline A Stagner and published by Elsevier, 21 May 2021, 302 pages. (book cover imag e [1] from Elsevier ) Inadvertently, the hazy cover reflects humanity’s response to climate change! The question is: What can we do about climate change? In the Philippines, “Science-Driven Fixes For Climate Change, Hunger Pushed In FAO [2] ”  is the title of an article by Jasper Y Arcalas (17 June 2021, BusinessMirror) . While the event is global, Mr Arcalas reports only PH’s contribution via Secretary of Agriculture William Dar in the mid-June virtual discussion on “Combating Climate Change

Wow! is my one-word description of ex-Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima ’s eulogy for ex-President Noynoy Aquino ; those 1,196 words opened my critical eyes wide from Disdain to Admiration . Really! The President is dead. Long live the President! I was paying attention to the worst and not the best of PNoy. As Mr Purisima puts it, Noynoy brought PH “from Asia’s sick man to Asia’s bright star.” I quote more from his untitled Eulogy [1] ( PhilStar.com ): President Aquino demonstrated principled leadership… The turnaround story of the Philippines – from Asia’s sick man to Asia’s bright star – is without doubt one of his greatest legacies. He left office with a Philippines more optimistic about its future, having ended the vicious cycle of doubt and having entered a virtuous cycle of confidence. PNoy inherited “principled leadership” from his father Ninoy . Disrespected publicly, Noynoy’s confidence came from his cabinet members like Mr Purisima. “His 6 years in office was proof of his

Nestor V Saludo shared this one on Facebook: “16 Things An Agripreneur Should Always Bear In Mind [1] " (21 June 2021, OnePropertee ), written by Lubar De Los Reyes who is a multi-millionaire selling real estate online. That means he knows his business! I find Mr De Los Reyes’ thoughts super , and I think PH youth wanting to become agripreneurs could learn from him, from each of: 16 Things An Agripreneur Should Always Bear In Mind To keep this essay short, I am presenting Mr De Los Reyes’ “16 Things” in a shorter form (yet still word-for-word from his list): 1. Be passionate about your agri-business. 2. Talk to your customers. Know what they want. 3. Learning is a lifelong process. Remember that Agripreneurs are dealing with livestock, weather and environment. These affect everyday decisions. 4. Learn and master the art of costing. 5. Have a quarterly check on your finance. 6. Your farm products should meet the highest quality standards and exceed customer expectat

Webinars here, webinars there: The institutional as well as individual excitements are on! when it comes to appearing online as a guest lecturer or speaker in a special webcast. Good – and Bad. Above image shows one of the photo albums included in “UPLB Today” Facebook page (shared by NJ Anastacio) . Readable entries are “CBSUA Academic Affairs And Policy Summit 2021” and “ University of the Philippines Los Baños added 18 new photos to the album #UPLB Today .” CBSUA is the Central Bicol State University located in San Jose, Pili, Camarines Sur, Southern Luzon. Exactly! What is the CBSUA image doing in a UPLB Facebook page is not explicit – not implicit either. #UPLB Today has quite a number of those albums – each one without title and without description. Someone slipping on the job. The above cluttered image reflects what I call “This New Age Of Webinars” – good for personal exposure, not-so-good for science or knowledge gained being transferred from one person to many – becaus

"Pigs are smart little creatures. They just need love" said Shelley Duvall , American actress famous for playing eccentric roles. In PH, much needed love comes now in the form of a new ASF (Asian Swine Fund, my coinage) – commercially needed considering the threat of the old ASF (Asian Swine Fever). (pig image [1] from eCompareMo ) On Saturday, 12 June 2021, observed as “Philippine Independence Day,” the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) independently brought out much love for the little creatures recently beleaguered and still threatened with the original ASF (Asian Swine Fever): “ACPC Allots P 500M To Revive Hog Industry [2] ” (Leander C Domingo, Manila Times ). I note that the ACPC released quite a big fund for a single animal: Action (with amount) speaks louder than words! Domingo said the ACPC “has allotted initial funding of P 500,000,000 (million) for swine projects of small enterprises, including start-up commercial hog raisers.” Note that it said, “init

Actually, I have already given the necessary steps of my Lazy Juan’s Formula for “instant fertilizer, organic (IFO)” – new name: “Lazy Juan’s Organic Farming For Pinoys – The More You Think, The More You Earn! [1] ”  (21 June 2021, Brave New World ). My IFO is different from the “indigenous microorganisms” (IMO) that is popular at UPLB, and which Real Organic claims is “the best organic fertilize r [2] ” (YouTube). This is what s/he says: In this video, I will show you how to make a very effective and cost-wise organic fertilizer for your gardens. The fertilizer is called Indigenous Micro-organisms or IMO in short. This will act as a soil conditioner and can make the soil (fertile) again. It can also be used to (make) compost for fast decomposition. It's very easy and fun to do. Actually, the fertilizer is not called “IMO” – the IMO are the microorganisms that convert the dead plant tissues into organic matter. That means, it takes days before you can apply the IMO-treated pla

Main image above: On Facebook, Felipe Gabriel claims planting rice “Achieving More With Less!“ 15 tons/ha. Applying: 20 bags processed chicken manure, rice straw from last cropping season, spraying IMO Probiotics at tillering, booting & milking stages; zero petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides. Inbred rice, System of Rice Intensification (SRI), in Sulop, Davao Del Sur. Here is our exchange on Facebook: Frank A Hilario I can beat that if somebody will finance 1 ha… no fertilizers, no compost, no manures, no probiotics! Felipe Gabriel Frank A Hilario Wow, breakthrough Yan sir! Subukan natin sir yang technology mo! Sa Aking sariling farm. Mr Gabriel’s farm is in Paniqui, Tarlac, and hereby I accept his challenge. This is an outline of my Lazy Juan’s Organic Farming (Above, superimposed image taken 12 July 2016, my blanket having composed itself into a lazy human! posterized) Strict instructions (actually practiced by someone in Asingan, Pangasinan): Step 1.      Preparing

Above, from Facebook the caption reads: “DA Urges LGUs, Farmers Groups, Private Sector To Help Transform Phl Agri Sector [1] ” (21 May 2021, Frances May Ramos, DA.gov.ph ). As Secretary, that is how William Dar is behaving as the Father of Philippine Agriculture today! Mr Secretary, you have an archipelagic-family size now. You have come a very long way. From 1999 to 2014, as Director General, you were the Virtual Father of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) based in India. From dead last, with your fathership, you brought ICRISAT to #1 among 15 international agricultural research centers under the umbrella of the CGIAR, including IRRI based in the Philippines. You did it via your Team Captainship . Your Family is your Team. Today, you have been the Servant Leader of Philippine Agriculture since 05 August 2019. You brought in with you what you called “The New Thinking for Agriculture” with 8 paradigms to build a new intelligent structure f

How would you like a new & different look of (above) – and a new book (mine) on our National Hero Jose Rizal ?! For your pdf copy of my new Rizal book, free, email frankahilario@gmail.com , my way of paying tribute to my hero and yours. Above image: I googled for images of “Jose Rizal” and saw tha t [1] , by Giga Art (name not revealed); that should make us all think as idealists , young and old. My new book, titled Jose Rizal As First Thinking Filipino, is my latest tribute to the National Hero and my first offering to the Filipino Youth , whom Rizal looked at as “Beautiful hope of my Fatherland!” (“Bella esperanza de la patria mia!”) This is the 2nd edition of my book – old title, indios bravos! Jose Rizal, Messiah Of The Redemption. Since JR was born 19 June 1861, if he were alive, that would make him 159 years old 19 June 2021. You know what? My book is 159 pages long! That should make us all think; there are no coincidences. Angel Number [2] says: 159 spiritually mean