Healthy Farms for Healthy Foods

Look at the above images again. No, I did not see it immediately, but PH Secretary of Agriculture William Dar was correct in pointing out that in the Cordillera, the mountains with the forests and rice terraces are already models of climate change. Good and Not That Good. How is that? The forest trees on the mountainsides should be able protect the farms down below from winds and rains too strong for the crops growing on the terraces. But in this case, there are not enough trees to absorb the gale strength of the wind. And the field of rice growing on the valley (lower image) shows that with climate change, the practice of monoculture should now be buried in the trash left by typhoons! To fight climate change, we must change monocultures to multicultures, from single crops to multiple crops growing in the same area at the same time. And no, not simply a mixture but a planned combination of food and wood crops: the wood crops are both for food and protection against strong winds. Don’

National recovery is a prime concern of the Du30 Administration, and this is visible in the latest joint move of government agencies to generate wealth via production of food from lands and waters, with financial support for farmers and fishers, as well as improvement of tourism economics. ANN says “DA, NEDA, DTI, Other Gov’t Agencies Join Forces Towards National Recovery” (Author Not Named, 25 Jan 2022, DA.gov.ph ): Looking beyond the global economic slowdown… Philippine government agencies forged an alliance towards recovery and rebuilding the country’s economy under the Task Group on Economic Recovery – National Employment Recovery Strategy (TGER-NERS). The TGER-NERS virtual press conference was held 18 Jan 2022 with cabinet secretaries Karl Kendrick Chua ( National Economic Development Authority ), Ramon Lopez ( Department of Trade & Industry ), and Berna Romulo-Puyat ( Department of Tourism ) sharing their agencies’ energized economic & employment plans. Agriculture

PH presidential candidates, all 5 frontrunners of them: Ping Lacson, Bongbong Marcos, Isko Moreno, Manny Pacquiao, Leni Robredo – who has the Vision and the Leadership to turn that Vision into Ideas and Ideas into Action?   (“Leaders” image from Leadership, Leadersandteamwork.wordpress.com ) Avid followers and/or fanatics of presidential candidates continue to praise their wo/man, but nobody ever talks about any Beautiful National Vision and how we Filipinos can achieve it. And why should a President have Vision? The business of the PH President is to make the archipelago prosperous for everyone – if you ask me, especially in agriculture, as it is the #1 industry in the country, which employs 12 million people. Prosperity . “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion” – Jack Welch . He should know. Mr Welch was Chair & CEO of General Electric from 1981 to 2001 ( Wikipedia ). He retired with

India surprised the whole world during the 26 th Conference of the Parties (CoP26) 31 October-12 November 2021 at Glasgow, Scotland, when it presented its Pledge of Panchamrit (Five-Fold Strategy) to fight climate change – implying that India knew better than any country how to cope with this global challenge. Let’s investigate! In “Indian Agriculture: The Route Post-CoP26” (15 Jan 2022, ICRISAT.org ), Arabinda K Padhee & Anthony Whitbread enumerate & explain the Indian five-fold strategy thus: 1. Diversification 2. Agro-Ecological Approaches 3. Water-Use Efficiency 4. Renewable Energy Usage 5. Digital Agriculture. Diversification The authors point out “potential benefits of crop diversification” based on research, including sorghum and millet, especially where rice yields are low: increase in food values and reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Agroforestry… brings synergies between trees and crops or forages (such as trees on field bunds, inline agroforestry

Surprise! Yes, I was astonished 100+ artists agreed to “participate in a fundraising exhibit to support Robredo’s campaign” ( Christa I De La Cruz , “BenCab, Elmer Borlongan + Over 100 Artists Come Together In A Fundraising Exhibit,” 25 Jan 2022, Spot.ph ). The above paintings shown are: “ Uprising of Love ” by Jomike Tejido , “ Laban Lang” by Elmer Borlongan , and “ Lendenii” by Robert Alejandro . The paintings differentiate themselves with their creators’ techniques, from abstract to detailed pieces, but with the same message in love: We Pthink Leni! The art exhibit “ Mas Radikal Ang Magmahal ” (“To Love Is More Radical” – my translation) will be shown virtually on www.radikal.ph . Indeed, the 3 images above collectively prove the exhibit’s title/claim. Ms Christa says: Vice President Leni Robredo's various programs, including the anti-poverty project Angat Buhay , vaccination drive Swab Cab , and online tele-consult Bayanihan E-Konsulta , are mostly powered by supporters

I am reading a UP Mindanao report containing a good simultaneous lesson for the Department of Science & Technology (DoST) and the Department of Agriculture (DA); from me: “Extension is promotion of process for people.” Via Facebook, here is the latest news from the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), a DoST agency, by Paul Jersey G Leon : “Bringing Hope To Conflict-Vulnerable Communities In Mindanao Through Agricultural Extension” (14 Jan 2022, PCAARRD.dost.gov.ph ): An alternative agricultural extension model has been giving a ray of hope to six conflict-vulnerable, geographically isolated, and disadvantaged communities in South Cotabato, Maguindanao, and Zamboanga Sibugay. This was the highlight of the paper, “Giving Farmers Uwen Fananafedew: Improving Agricultural Extension Policy In Conflict-Vulnerable Areas Through The Livelihood Improvement Through Facilitated Extension (LIFE) Model,” which was implemented b

A Filipino, I’m looking for a presidential candidate who appreciates the need for Primate Change to combat Climate Change, the current not-so-quiet World War that billions of people either do not recognize or realize. Above, the middle image says, “Climate change and the people factor” – Why net zero needs the people factor to succeed” ( Kpmg ), where “net zero” means zero greenhouse gases. (multi-image of PH presidential candidates from Panex-TV-Facts, YouTube.com ) Where do you find the people factor? In farming, I say. Agriculture is the most important sector of the Philippine economy, says Juan Edmund Fernandez Martinez of UP Open University in “Governance In Agriculture And Rural Development,” 2013, Ombudsman.gov.ph ): Agriculture is the queen of the economy, the basis on which industry is built, an essential stepping stone to development…. (The) overall economic growth depends upon growth in agriculture… the source of food and raw materials to the rest of the economy, as well

What truth-checking are PH journalists and GMA media admirers talking about, I don’t know! I know they did not think-check Jessica Soho’s set of “probing” questions! Above image, the title of the Twitter entry from GMA Network proudly says, “The Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews.” The introducing statement says, “After no-show Marcos Jr hits yet journo Jessica Soho for being biased, GMA Network claps back.” Jairo Bolledo says (22 Jan 2022, “ Biased? GMA Tells Marcos Camp Jessica Soho’s Questions ‘Tough’ Like The Presidency,” Rappler , Rappler.com ): MANILA, Philippines – GMA Network on Saturday, January 22, refuted the claim of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr’s camp that veteran journalist Jessica Soho is “biased against the Marcoses” – the reason it had cited for refusing to join her interview with presidential aspirants. If you ask me, an Ilocano like BBM, ti agpayso , I will tell you that everyone is biased for or against the Marcoses! The GMA Network statement continues:

Yes, Butuan City’s AgriBoost is a Winner in Bloomberg Global Mayors Challenge 2021; No, it is not the Grand Prize Winner –only 1 among the 15 winning cities from 13 countries chosen by Bloomberg Philanthropies. (image from PhilStar.com , Mayor Lagnada 3 rd from right) Of the many reports I googled on the results of the Bloomberg Global Mayors Challenge (GMC), only 4 got the news right. Most PH media said Butuan City was the Grand Prize Winner of the Bloomberg GMC, which is very wrong : Butuan is only 1 among 15 winners chosen from a group of 50 Champion Cities. This journalist cannot forgive that journalistic untruth, as googling would have corrected the error. Does this mean Filipino journalists are Lazy Juans? Pola Rubio says, “Butuan City, Philippines is among the 15 winning cities of the 2021-2022 Global Mayors Challenge announced by Bloomberg Philanthropies Tuesday” (18 Jan, “Butuan Wins Bloomberg Philanthropies Funding For City Programs,” PH.news.yahoo.com ): “AgriBoost,”

Among PH presidential candidates, nobody is talking about what ought to be done with agriculture – especially considering Climate Change. You are not The Big Friend if you don’t talk about The Big Enemy. Above image, sharing on Facebook by Bonifacio Bebe Menguito Via iSambayan , much respected Filipina opinion-maker Solita Garduño Collas-Monsod says: Hindi kasama sa website in Bongbong Marcos ang kanyang programa ng gobyerno. Walang kahit isang salita tungkol sa kung ano ang kanyang gagawin para sa bansa bilang pangulo. My translation: Not included in the website of Bongbong Marcos (BBM) is his program of government. Not a single word is said about what he plans to do for the country as President. Ha, ha! Ms Solita’s words make up both an obvious criticism as well as a sly suggestion – BBM, come up with your program of government! Among the May 2022 candidates, BBM knows most about agriculture, having been Governor of his province, Ilocos Norte. I have written in praise of him;

To put it mildly, these are challenging times, from the Covid-19-related pandemic to politics trying to defeat heat-seeking, truth-aimed journalism. As a self-taught journalist, I’m out of there! Meanwhile, ANN has come out with the news, “Bigger Tsek.ph To Be Relaunched Jan 24” (Author Not Named, 21 Jan 2022, verafiles.org ): Consistent in its efforts to counter disinformation through verified information, an expanded Tsek.ph, the country’s pioneering fact-checking collaboration, will be relaunched on Jan 24 in time for the May 9 elections. It is like Tsek.ph saying, “What’s in a name? That which we call Truth by any other name would smell as sweet!” Except it’s not my species of rose. The launch will be attended by its partners consisting of 22 academic, media and civil society institutions and initiatives that have agreed to collaborate to provide the public with truthful and factual information regarding the elections by debunking false and misleading narratives from public fig

Once an Editor, always an Editor. Filipino, a UP Los Baños BS Agriculture major in Ag Edu 1965 graduate, I taught myself writing & editing science texts starting April 1975, copywriting 2 years before. Now comes this GrainPro challenge of a copy. Editing science must be repetitious, and 100%-attention labor each time. No exceptions. The need to re-read & re-edit for quality is my experience in the last 47 years, from April 1975 when I was hired as a writer, and immediately became the Editor In Chief of the Forest Research Institute (FORI), based at the campus of the UP College of Agriculture (UPCA). FORI is now ERDB; UPCA is now UPLB – how time flies! Today I have 81-year-old editorial eyes with a sense of close affinity to text declaring the world is suffering from man-worsened climate changes. And my heart goes to the small farmers. That is why GrainPro’s Facebook post titled “Hope For Smallholder Farmers In Adapting Climate-Smart Agriculture” caught my attention. Visitin

How do you manage a whole industry while controlling a problem like the deadly Asian Swine Fever (ASF)? A necessary part of controlling the ASF is, first of all, helping the small swine growers in raising pigs in healthy ways, and merchants in dealing fairly with them and the consuming public. Thus, I appreciate the virtual signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Department of Agriculture (DA), headed by Secretary of Agriculture William Dar, and North Star Meat Merchants Inc (NSMMI), headed by NSMMI President Anthony Ng (above image). This occurred Tuesday, 18 Jan 2022, according to ANN (Author Not Named, “DA, North Star Partner For Contract Growing Arrangement Of INSPIRE Beneficiaries,” DA.gov.ph ). INSPIRE is the DA’s “                        program. Under the MoU, the DA, through its Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS), will be very busy assisting beneficiaries of INSPIRE. This is a direct leadership challenge to Director of AMAS Ramon Yedra

New, Europeans call it “Green Fertilizer” – being manufactured sans fossil fuel = no greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, no climate change added. Congratulations from this warrior writer in the Philippines! (above image from Milorganite.com ) Rachel Donovan says (“ First Fossil-Free Fertilizers To Hit The Market In 2023” (13 Jan 2022, Irish Farmers Journal , farmersjournalie.com ): These fertilizers (are being) produced using renewable energy, unlike ordinary fertilizer, which is produced using natural gas, a non-renewable energy source. The producers are a team from Yara, a global producer of fertilizer, and Lantmanne, a Swedish aggie cooperative. In fact, the Yara-Lantmanne (YL) team began testing the commercial viability of green fertilizers in 2019 yet. Ms Rachel says: The green fertilizers (are being) produced using ammonia based on renewable energy produced in Europe….. With the program, Lantmannen says it has reduced the climate footprint from wheat cultivation by up to 30% sin

A s I write, 17 Jan 2022, I strongly believe that only Primate Change can change Climate Change in favor of mankind. And because of the millions of hectares involved, I see the main area of struggle as Agriculture cum Forestry, with what I now term “Regenerative AgriForestry.” Last year, I came to believe that the climate champion was found in Agriculture Only (see my essay, “Regenerative Agriculture – What’s In It For The Philippines?” 05 Oct 2021, RegINA, Queen Mother Earth ). I said there: Regenerative agriculture is farming that enhances and/or restores ecosystems (like soils) even as it helps workers of the fields grow healthy crops & livestock. Early this year, the more I thought of it, I saw that regenerative agriculture itself could be improved by agroforestry: Regenerative Agroforestry . Only to find out that different people had come up with the concept & term many years ago. And yet I thank them! Because, thereafter, Monday, 17 January 2022, I came up with a much