Healthy Farms for Healthy Foods

This is a lesson in publicity – or failing in that, anonymity . There is a Slow Food Youth Network Philippines but I did not know that – and I am a very wide reader , spending many hours on the Internet every single day, blogging daily! 47 years ago, I was a copywriter for PR genius Tony Zorilla in his Makati firm Pacifica Publicity Bureau under Creative Director Nonoy Gallardo , who taught us much. (And I never stopped writing.) One good lesson now is: Come up with something unforgettable that many people will associate with your product. Today, in the Philippines, Chooks-to-Go is very much memorable as a ready-to-eat chicken. The name itself is as if a slogan: “chicken to go.” Today also, I’m looking at an international campaign emanating from Turin, Italy: “Terra Madre Salone Del Gusto.” 1 st Lesson: Not a memorable name, sorry. 2 nd Lesson: There is no English translation! Who can remember Italian names?! My literal translation: “Mother Earth Salon of Gusto.” My free trans...

Let me be very clear at the outset: I am not sold to the use of chemical fertilizers to grow crops, but you have the right to decide for yourself over organic fertilizers. Personally I know that my alma mater, University of the Philippines College of Agriculture (UPCA), now UP Los Baños, has not changed fertilizer recommendations since I was Freshman in 1959. So I graduated in 1965, haha, 2 years late – I was minding a girl more seriously than my studies. Then, I fell out of love while UP Los Baños stayed faithful to the chemical fertilizers with or without mentioning any organic fertilizer during classes. UPCA was born in 1908. In other words, urea is an American prescription for Philippine agriculture that is 113 years old. Am I anti-American? No! Why do you think I have been blogging thousands of essays written in American English since 2005! So I’m not surprised that PH Agriculture is fertilized by the chemical formula urea ; so I’m not surprised either to learn that today, farm...

  I’m talking about Digitally Abled Agriculture via Google searches for advices, choices, concerns, experiences, instructions, options, philosophies, procedures, and theories in farming. Farmers incessantly learning from an inexhaustible online library of knowledge. SMART JUAN. Yes, it operates with The Internet-Ready 5 Ws of Agriculture: Who, What, Where, When & Why . (upper imag e [1] from PNA.gov.ph ; lower imag e [2] from ATI.da.gov.ph ) This is a follow-up to my SMART JUAN proposal for digitally informed agriculture contained in 2 essays, both published in this blog, TIT for TAT: (1) “‘Smart Juan’ – The Digital Renaissance Of ‘Juan Tamad’ Into An All-Knowing Farme r [3] , ” 15-08-2021; and (2) “What Agriculture Can Do To Help Control Climate Change [4] , ” 16-08-2021. A Knowledge Base for PH Agriculture, SMART JUAN means: “Stored Matter Adapted To Rural Terrain Translated For Johns Utilizing Agricultural Notes, Notions, Novelties In Science.” (“Johns” is English plura...

Rappler has much of the bad news today – and none of what we can do to survive or surmount climate change. Because either Rappler loves bad news – or doesn’t much understand climate change. Rappler’s Bad News: Last Thursday, 12 August 2021, Pia Ranada came out with her “Devastating Floods, Heat, Droughts To Worsen In PH For Next 30 Years – UN Report.” Ms Pia emphasizes: Hitting 1.5ºC warming will bring “extreme events unprecedented in the observational record” in different parts of the world, says the report. Humans have spewed so much greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that catastrophic floods, rains, heatwaves, and drought will keep worsening in the Philippines for the next 30 years, no matter what steps we take today to slash emissions. (upper image from Rappler) TIT for TAT “Better” News: This writer warrior says, “Know your enemies!” The US Natural Resources Defense Council says the 5 major greenhouse gases are: carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) contributing 76%; methane (CH 4 ) 16%; ...

From the name identifier of a Filipino, from “Juan De La Cruz” has come a derogatory nickname: “Juan Tamad” (Lazy Juan, Lazy One). Today, I am reinventing the national ID into “Smart Juan” using the cellphone in his farming! All sciences and all experiences in agriculture should be in the mind. Or, which is the equivalent, accessible via and readable in the ordinary cellphone. (image of “Wisdom [1] ” f rom Pixabay.com ; image of cellphone-field [2] f rom Jack Matthew) Today, what do we need to grow in our forests & farms? Wisdom! Now is the time for all good books to come to the aid of our country!   To read more books would result in Wisdom? In Bewilderment if you’re not careful. I was reading Jowelle Ann Cruz’ news report, “Aboitiz Group, DA Partner To Digitalize PH Agriculture [3] ” (04 August 2021, Megabites ), on that date virtually launching “Byaheng Digiskarte ni Ani at Kita” – loosely translated, “digital journeys for harvests and earnings” (above, text image supe...

August is PH “National Coconut Month” – looking at/for the national good of coconut farmers and their families, have we been/are we being holistic? (image of “The Philippines’ Money-Making Tree [1] ”  from Fareasternagriculture.com ) (image of “Grass is always greene r [2] ” from Pinterest ) Let’s see! On Monday, 03 August 2021, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) kicked off this year’s celebration; the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) likewise mentioned it. Now, how do you celebrate when you are confused as to the duration of the observance: Is it “National Coconut We ek [3] ”  (according to the PCA itself), or “National Coconut Month [4] ”  (according to the ATI ) ? In fact, in another announcement, the PCA says it’s “Month [5] !” As I rewrite this, 1611 Friday, the conflicting website entries by the PCA itself are still there. I hope that this is a minor lapse in reportage; I am sorrier to see that the PCA has not brought the coconut farmers from rags to rich...

  Setting aside Covid-19 of which I know nothing about, I say, yes, we are in the midst of an unprecedented  Man-Made Crises  in food production, processing & marketing – with the smallest producers hit the worst. Now then, we should be looking for  Man-Made Solutions ! Here I am  invoking hope  via the images above: UP Los Baños “Oblation” photograph by me dated 08-09-2018; “Prospects” imag e [1]   from  Manila Times ,   25-03-2021. “Don’t Lose Hope” Secretary of Agriculture  William Dar , here he is  invoking help : “Agri Chief Calls On HEIs To Help Gov't In Economic Recovery Efforts” in a press release 11 August 2021 by the  Department of Agriculture (DA) , where he is head. Mr Dar was inspiring the higher education institutions (HEIs) “to take an active part in implementing the government's action plans” nationally in “addressing the challenges faced by the Philippine agriculture sector.” This was during the virtual for...