Healthy Farms for Healthy Foods

As the son of a farmer who helped grow rice and vegetables to earn money for my BS Agriculture from UP Los Baños, graduating 1965, I know personally that farmers spray pesticides against insects and weeds. But I did not know anything about pesticide residues – that was not studied in class. (top image of Filipino farmer spraying [1] from Dreamstime.com ) Now comes the Department of Agriculture at the Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) showing customer concern as ANN reports on Facebook, “ DA-CAR Eyes To Establish Pesticide Residue Analysis Laboratory In La Trinidad” (28 September 2021): The Department of Agriculture eyes to establish a Pesticide Residue Analysis Mini Laboratory at Benguet AgriPinoy Trading Center (BAPTC), La Trinidad, Benguet to promote food safety to the consuming public. This was one of the highlights during the DA Food Safety Program meeting last 23 September 2021 at the RCPC Hall, Guisad, Baguio City. (lower image) RCPC is the Regional Crop & Protect

I am an Agriculturist, a 1965 graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture, now UP Los Baños, but I don’t remember “brown rice” being discussed in class. Not that important? 3 decades plus later, when I was Editor In Chief of the Philippine Journal of Crop Science (PJCS), early 2000s, at the PhilRice Los Baños Station where I was holding office courtesy of Diego Ramos, Station Chief, I remember retired PhilRice Executive Director SRO and retired IRRI scientist Cesar Mamaril talking expertly and enthusiastically about brown rice. They talked about having to soak before cooking – but not about the taste . Today, I can tell anyone: Brown rice? There is no love lost between us. Here comes Mervalyn Tomas with her article at the PhilRice website: “Study: More Filipino Consumers Aware Of Health Benefits Of Low-GI Rice [1] ” (27 August 2021, Philrice.gov.ph ). “GI” is glycemic index . According to the Mayo Clinic, “The glycemic index is a system of assigning a numb

I agriculturist & warrior writer welcome literary & worrier writer Yvette Tan as she makes known her wish for the Filipino farmer to “thrive” and not just “survive” (27 August 2021, “Agriculture Should Be Treated As An Industry, Not As Welfare [1] , ” Manila Bulletin ). (Welfare image [2]  from iStock) Although she does not make it clear at the outset, she is only quoting businessmind Julius Barcelona who says, “Agriculture should be treated as an industry, not as welfare.” Mr Barcelona is VP of the Philippine Seed Industry Association . His LinkedIn account says he is “Working to enrich the life of the Filipino farmer.” I say, “Excellent!” Unhappily for me, I find neither in Ms Tan’s 770-worded Bulletin piece nor Mr Barcelona’s LinkedIn posts how each or both propose to work it out so that agriculture is treated as industry and not as welfare. Ah, but I agree with Ms Tan and Mr Barcelona that “agriculture should be treated as an industry, not as welfare!” I forgive Ms Tan

This is the true story of Filipinos Carlo Biado and wife Niecky Quebec who actually helped him win Sunday, 19 September, the 2021 US Open 9-Ball Championship at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. Prize: $50,000 ( P 2.5 million). His opponent, Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp , never had any remote idea he was fighting a Filipino Husband & Wife Team! This is the Carlo Biado 9-Ball Championship story nobody else is telling you. First, I am proud to say I and Carlo are Ilocano, and we have roots from Rosario, La Union. I used to play pool myself – we called it “billiards” – until college in the early 1960s. I was an A-player too: I could defeat you with a “love set,” meaning, you never get to play while I pocket all the balls and finish the game all by myself! Magic? You need nerves, plus experience plus an experimental mind like that of the incomparable billiards “Magician” Efren “Bata” Reyes , another Filipino. Philip Matel says (23 September 2021, “New Champ Carlo Bia

Today’s Reminder: Always, we have been our first line of defense against sickness. Yes: Now, “health” refers to “body, mind, spirit and soul” taken together. Yes: Health begins at home. (“Body, Mind, Spirit, Soul” imag e [1]  by Mimi Clark, Gaia Blooming , Pinterest) (“Health Begins At Home” imag e [2] from CDC-TV, CDC.gov ) I myself did not realize that until today when I saw Irma Santos Paulme’s Facebook sharing 14 September 2021: We, the healthcare workers, are not your frontliners any longer. We are (now) your LAST LINE OF DEFENSE. YOU, my fellow people, are the frontliners now. The war has shifted to the community and it is up to you. This cannot be won in the confines of the hospital… Dr B Calinawagan Let this sink in. Thank you, Dr B Calinawagan , whoever you are! I see: Your family name means Enlightenment. Thank you for enlightening us even if it’s 2 years late! We must now pay attention to ourselves more than ever. Now, using Chrome, I googled for “health begins at home

Abundant fish, crabs & other crustaceans are what you will always find in a mangrove swamp – if the fishermen observe religiously conservation practices. (Bohol mangrove forest bottom imag e [1] f rom Boholphilippines.com ) I have had firsthand experiences with mangroves and appreciate their natural wealth that people can enjoy, varieties of sea foods and recreation. I was Editor In Chief of the Forest Research Institute (FORI) from 1975 to 1981; for the 3 FORI publications – monthly newsletter Canopy , quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop , and quarterly color magazine Habitat – I had to travel with my staff to Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao to cover and/or check the progress of research and/or developments in forest ecosystems. So we saw and took photographs of, among other sites, mangroves. If you didn’t know, among other things, says the US National Ocean Servic e [2] : Mangrove forests stabilize the coastline, reducing erosion from storm surges, currents, waves, and tide

Ramon Yedra’s Facebook sharings are many and multi-dimensional; sometimes they are out of my world, but I still admire him for being forthright as well as civil. They don’t make them like they used to anymore! 31 August 2021 is the 114th birth anniversary of PH President Ramon Magsaysay . Here is Mr Yedra on Mr Magsaysay and “Rebuilding A Nation,” which is the essence of his 1953 presidential inaugural speech: “We have a glorious past. Now we must build a future worthy of that past.” This is from “Inaugural Address of President Magsaysay, 30 December 1953 [1] ”: All too often, however, we speak of Rizal – and of Del Pilar, Bonifacio, Mabini, and our host of heroes – as if their work were done, as if today their spirit had ceased to have any meaning or value to our people. The truth is that we need their spirit now more than ever. We need it to complete the work (that) they began. If you ask me, an Ilocano writer-thinker, PH’s National Hero Jose Rizal was for Filipino independence

“World Bamboo Day is about all things bamboo: sustainability, environment, ecology, science, architecture, art, music, food, housing, habitat, restoration, aesthetics, economy, utilization, everything [1] . ” Count those – I did not realize so much value from the bamboo! The above is a quote, here is another from ANN on the website of the World Bamboo Organization , “World Bamboo Day” (Author Not Named, undated, Worldbamboo.net ): Since 2009, we have been celebrating World Bamboo Day to increase the awareness (on) bamboo globally. Where bamboo grows naturally, bamboo has been a daily element, but its utilization has not always been sustainable due to exploitation. The World Bamboo Organization aims to bring the potential of bamboo to a more elevated exposure – to protect natural resources and the environment, to ensure sustainable utilization, to promote new cultivation of bamboo for new industries in regions around the world, as well as promote traditional uses locally for communi

A good media does not teach Hate – s/he teaches Understanding ! A good extensionist propagates Thinking , not simply Memorizing or Remembering . Rappler , with your Facebook sharing on Tuesday, 21 September 2021, “Here are eight books on martial law to furnish your knowledge on one of the darkest periods in Philippine history,” plus your online entry, “#NeverForget: Revisit The Dark Era Of Martial Law Through These Books” – thereby you are a Dictator, not a Teacher! Rappler, you are dictating to your readers What to Think, not How to Think! A good media teaches how and not what to think critically. It Engages, Enriches, Inspires . (“Engage, Enrich, Inspir e [1] ” image from Teachingwithamountainview.com ) This is a teacher speaking, a graduate of UP Los Baños with a BS Agriculture degree major in Ag Education. In 1966, I taught at the UP College of Agriculture, now UP Los Baños and, having discovered organic farming for myself, began to change students’ minds about modern ag

Today, in Nueva Ecija, I’m thinking of Wensilito F Gomez thinking of piloting others on their way to becoming agripreneurs, farmers with the entrepreneurial spirit. His plane has the initials ANYO. (“plane passengers” imag e [1]  from Megapixl ) ANN tells Mr Gomez’ story, “From Dreaming Of Becoming A Pilot To Being A Successful Agripreneur Through The Agri-Negosyo Program [2] ” (ACPC, ACPC.gov.ph ). Mr Gomez is very happy with the P 480,000 borrowed from the Agri-Negosyo (ANYO) Loan Program of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), an agency of the Department of Agriculture. Very happy, because an ANYO loan has zero interest; with it, his agribusiness has grown Big. Mr Gomez’ success should encourage others to cultivate their entrepreneurial spirit. Wife Josefina says, “Because of agribusiness, we have helped many people.” (With ANN’s Tagalog interview, I’m translating freely.) Mr Gomez says, “They are part of the business.” That’s attitude – with good attitude comes good vi