PH DA Grants P27 Million To Cordillera Farmer Coops – Usec Sebastian Gives 1Million-Dollar Advice!

Good fortune doesn’t come as golden as this: The Department of Agriculture (DA) has awarded a total of P54.5 million to Cordilleran farmers as of 23 Dec 2021.

ANN says on 23 Dec, “Agri-Stakeholders Inaugurate P26.7M BAPTC Processing & Packaging Facility; (DA) Turns Over Marketing & Consolidation Grants to FCAs, Tinoc LGU[1]” (Author Not Named, Business.facebook.com). The P26.7M was for the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center (BAPTC) “to enhance postharvest services to farmers by providing equipment for postharvest, processing, packing ,,,to improve the quality of products.” The fund is under the DA Bayanihan II stimulus package jointly implemented by the DA and the Benguet State University (BSU) based at La Trinidad, Benguet. The BAPTC is on the Strawberry Fields at the BSU campus.

BSU President Felipe Salaing Comila committed BSU to provide “the best experts in the University to help and assist towards the (improvement) of trading vegetables as well as in the better packaging of agri-products.”

Separately, a financial grant of P27,865,000 under the Enhanced Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita was awarded to farmer cooperatives and associations (FCAs) and one local government unit (Tinoc) in the Cordillera. The Certificates were awarded by Agriculture Undersecretary (Usec) Leocadio Sebastian and assisted by Cordillera Regional Technical Director (RTD) for Operations Danilo Daguio and RTD for Research & Regulations Jennilyn Dawayan.

The grant was for the FCAs to establish a postharvest facility for value-adding on farmers’ produce, as well as procuring transport and delivery vehicles. This is in line with the DA’s goal to intensify the operations of Kadiwa not only in Metro Manila but in the regions, to enhance food availability and facilitate accessibility to consumers in high-demand areas through partnerships with other government agencies, local government units, farmer groups, private sector, and community organizations.

Marcos Luciap, Chair of the Tawangan Agrarian Reform Community Multipurpose Cooperative, acknowledged BSU “as a partner in development not just in terms of education.” He thanked the DA for including the FCAs in its programs, saying “It shows that the government support to us farmers is (comprehensive).”

Municipal Mayor Samson Benito of Tinoc, Ifugao committed LGU Tinoc to “the continuous operation and maintenance of the agri-programs and assistance that they have received.”

After those millions of pesos, Mr Sebastian gave a golden message to all:

Usec Sebastian shared his experiences and observations… particularly (in) Vietnam and Malaysia. He gave emphasis on three aspects, namely reduction of production cost, diversification in crops, and improvement of marketing system.

Thinking with Mr Sebastian, I agriculturist and warrior writer now emphasize his emphasis on reducing production cost and diversifying crops.

Farmers must cut down the high cost of farming – with more science and more art (management).

Farmers will profit more growing more crops simultaneously. Should one crop fail, other crops will save each farmer’s labors & family.

The above image[2]is typical of Cordillera farms. Britannicasays there are 4,000 square miles of such rice terraces[3]– imagine how many millions of pesos more Cordillera farmers could earn following Mr Sebastian’s advice?!@517

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[1]https://business.facebook.com/rafiscordillera/posts/2477004629101212?__tn__=K-R

[2]https://www.tripadvisor.com.ph/Attraction_Review-g294249-d3208819-Reviews-Hapao_Rice_Terraces-Banaue_Ifugao_Province_Cordillera_Region_Luzon.html#/media-atf/3208819/102246756:p/?albumid=-160&type=0&category=-160

[3]https://www.britannica.com/place/Banaue-rice-terraces

A Haunting Message From Filipino Hero Jose Rizal, Via Sen Kiko Pangilinan!

4 years ago, exactly on 30 Dec 2017, our National Hero Jose Rizalhaunted, so to speak, Sen Kiko Pangilinan, and Farmer Senator Kiko broadcasted the following seeds of thoughts for all to watch grow and harvest the fruits therefrom, both in English and Tagalog (long titles with big-sized texts mine):
(Rizal & rice image[1] from FutureRice.com;
texts in English and Tagalog from “Sen. Kiko Pangilinan Remembers Rizal As A Farmer[2],” kikopangilinan.com)

“I Choose To Remember Jose Rizal As A Farmer Who Reminds Us That We Need To Measure Development By How Abundant Are The Farmers’ Own Dining Tables” – Kiko Pangilinan, 30 Dec 2017

Today, we remember our national hero, a writer, a doctor, and a martyr. Today, I choose to remember Jose Rizal as a farmer who soiled his hands and feet to learn the basics of agriculture, studying how to make the land he bought near Dapitan productive.

During his exile on the land in the coastal barangay of Talisay, he planted rice and corn and vegetables, and raised chickens. He also founded a cooperative that helped other farmers use efficient farming techniques (like use of fertilizer, crop rotation, and use of farm machines), and market their produce. ing together, can help uplift agricultural workers from ignorance and poverty.

Ka Pepe left the haunting message that genuine independence cannot exist when Filipino farmers are still disrespected and poor. We need to measure development by how abundant their own dining tables are.#

“Inaaalala Natin Si Jose Rizal Bilang Isang Magsasakang Nagpababatid Na Dapat Nating Sukatin Ang Pag-Unlad Sa Kung Gaano Kasagana Ang Hapag-Kainan Mismo Ng Mga Magsasakang Pilipino” – Kiko Pangilinan, 30 Dis 2017

Ngayong araw na ito, inaaalala natin ang ating pambansang bayani, isang manunulat, isang doktor, at isang martir. Ngayong araw na ito, pinili kong maalala si Jose Rizal bilang magsasakang nagbungkal ng lupa para pag-aralan ang agrikultura at paano pa mas maging masagana ang ani ng lupang binili niya sa may Dapitan.

Noong kanyang exile sa lupain sa baybaying barangay ng Talisay, nagtanim siya ng palay, mais, at gulay, at nag-alaga ng mga manok. Nagtatag din siya ng kooperatibang tumulong sa iba pang magsasaka para gumamit ng mga mabisang paraan sa pagsasaka (tulad ng paggamit ng pataba, crop rotation, at paggamit ng mga makinarya), at para ibenta ang kanilang mga naani.

Alam niya na ang agham at technolohiya, kasama ng bayanihan, ay makakatulong para maiahon ang manggagawang agrikultural mula sa kamangmangan at kahirapan.

Nag-iwan si Ka Pepe ng nakakabahalang mensahe: walang tunay na kasarinlan kung ang mga Pilipinong magbubukid ay nananatiling minamaliit at mahirap. Dapat nating sukatin ang pag-unlad sa kung gaano kasagana ang kanilang sariling mga hapag-kainan.#

An agriculturist, a blogger of 21 years, and very wide reader, I am pleasantly surprised with the thoughts of Senator Kiko on Jose Rizal’s thoughts regarding the growers of crops and animals for food. If our farmers themselves can only afford limited fare on their families’ own dining tables, how can we Filipinos say, “Yes, the Philippines is a developed country!?”@517

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[1]http://futurerice.blogspot.com/2015/08/commemorating-heroism-through-rice.html

[2]https://kikopangilinan.com/sen-kiko-pangilinan-remembers-rizal-farmer/?cn-reloaded=1

On Jose Rizal’s Martyrdom 30 Dec 1896, Filipinos Lost A Fearless Hero – And A Martyr For Agriculture!

I am an alumnus of the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture (UPCA, now UP Los Baños). Today, I want to celebrate the martyrdom of our National Hero by talking about Ateneo’s favorite son who was, surprised? Farmer Jose Rizal!
(above image from Rizal Shrine in Talisay[1], from Phtourguide.com)

I am reading the article “Rizal As A Farmer In Dapitan[2]” on the JoseRizal.Ph website, with this 1^st paragraph:

To prove to his people that farming is (as) good a profession as medicine, Rizal became a farmer in Dapitan. In a letter to his sister, Lucia, on 12 Feb 1896, he said: "We cannot all be doctors; it is necessary that there would be some to cultivate the soil."

"We cannot all be doctors; it is necessary that there would be some to cultivate the soil."

This is surprising as Rizal is up to now Ateneo’s favorite son. Yet Ateneo forgot Agriculture, one of the courses it was already offering in Rizal’s time. Does that mean that the Spanish Ateneo administrators did not give much value to this course in their own academe? And no, there is no Agriculture in today’s Ateneo offerings:

All that suggests that the Ateneo Fathers looked down on the cultivators of the fields as second class citizens, even if they were the ones who grew the food that went into their hungry mouths. The Ateneo Fathers did not recognize the radical in Rizal’s mind: “We cannot all be doctors; it is necessary that there would be some to cultivate the soil.”

If you look at the above image again, it is a reminder that this Filipino valued farming even as he valued his doctoring. I remember that his brother Paciano was the one who managed their landholdings in Laguna growing sugarcane, whose stalks produced sweetness and the pesos that were the source of Jose’s education in the Philippines as well as in Spain.

So, how good was Jose Rizal as a farmer in Dapitan? He was very good; he knew his science very well.

JoseRizal.Ph says:

On this land in Talisay… with the help of his pupils and some laborers, (Rizal) cleared it and planted cacao, coffee, coconuts, and fruit trees.... In due time, his total land holdings reached 70 hectares. They contained 6,000 abaca plants, 1,000 coconut palms, many coffee and cacao plants and numerous kinds of fruit trees.

Science calls that terrific combination “multiple cropping,” mixed plantings of abaca, cacao, coconut, coffee, and fruit trees. (My source does not mention rice.)

(Rizal) encouraged the Dapitan farmers to replace their primitive system of cultivation with these modern methods… the use of fertilizers, the rotation of crops, and the use of farm machines. Rizal actually imported some farm machines from the United States.

And you know what? As the superimposed image states, “Sen Kiko Pangilinan Remembers Rizal As A Farmer[3]” – now then, as an Agriculturist, there is none other whom I will vote for as Vice President in 2022!@517

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[1]http://www.phtourguide.com/rizal-shrine-in-dapitan-city/

[2]http://www.joserizal.ph/dp03.html

[3]http://legacy.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2017/1230_pangilinan1.asp

With Super Typhoon-Spawning Climate Change, Let’s Give Ourselves Greener Hope Doing Less Chemical Agriculture!

In 1968, I taught Organic Farming at Xavier U College of Agriculture in Cagayan De Oro City, that which Nicanor “Nicky” Perlas acknowledges he owes me. He went on to embrace Biodynamic Farming and win the International Right Livelihood Award. He proceeded to proselytize forSustainable Development and I owed him in turn.

Whatever agriculture you do belongs to sustainable development if (1) technically feasible, (2) economically viable, (3), environmentally sound, and (4) socially acceptable. Sorry, but today, 53 years later, I am proselytizingagainst Sustainable Development – because I have realized that it is a humanitarian concept but in fact it is in favor of climate change without our knowledge!

I am a diehard Roman Catholic; the image you see above is from the website cbcp.org of the Christian Bible Church of the Philippines (CBCP). The initials “CBCP” had belonged to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines as early as 1945 – nonetheless, this Catholic salutes those CBCP Bible Christians for coming out with “Give Hope Odette” before Christmas 2021.

I too wish to give hope to fellow Filipinos, not only the victims of super typhoon Odette but to all islanders of the Philippines, by pointing out that we can all give hope to ourselves by directly confronting climate change. No, you’re never neither too small nor too ignorant to do what you can do.
(“You’re never too small” image[1] from Pinterest.ph)

I am on record as co-authoring with UPLB Professor Teodoro C Mendoza the technical paper “Rice As Food For Peace: Major Debate Points In The Philippine Context” published in the Philippine Journal of Crop Science vol26 #1 released March 2003 with me as Editor In Chief. We noted that “climate change” is otherwise known as “global warming.” Among other things, we said, “We must change our energy use, the way we cultivate the soil and feed the plants.”

On my own, my earliest writing about what we can do about climate change dates back to 14 years ago (see my essay, “Climate Change In UK, Then In UP, Then In US[2]?” (19 Nov 2007, UP Beloved).

The US EPA tells us that as of 2019, transportation contributed 29% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), electricity production25%, industry 23%, commercial & residential 13%, land use & forestry 12%, and agriculture 10%[3] (website entry undated).

I declare, sustainable or not, current chemical agriculture contributes very much moreto GHGs, because you need:
much electricity/gas to mine inputs for farm chemicals;
much energy to manufacture chemical fertilizers & pesticides;
much gasoline to transport chemicals from factories to farms;
much energy to plant & cultivate & weed out & irrigate & harvest & dry farm produce & store & process & transport products to differently located markets.

I see that Sustainable Agriculture is at least 4 times more guilty of climate change than we have ever thought!

Now, to fight climate change within probabilities? We must practice Regenerative Agriculture! We can do much to fight climate change simply practicing organic farming!@517

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[1]https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/767371223996732845/

[2]https://upbeloved.wordpress.com/

[3]https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions

PH Agriculture – The Innovation That NAST Forgot But PRRD Did Not!

In this Digital Age, innovation, or creativity, is a must – you must be living in the past if you did not believe so!

After pointing out sadly yesterday (Monday) in my blog that the National Academy of Science & Technology (NAST) did not consider Agriculture as an area for Innovation (see my essay, “With Pagtanaw 2050, NAST Dreams Blue; With His 22” ViewSonic, Frank Dreams Green[1],” 27 Dec 2021, RegINA, Queen Mother Earth), I am glad to find out today (Tuesday) that 2 years ago yet, PRRD was quite innovative and signed Republic Act (RA) 11293 (“Philippine Innovation Act”) on 17 April 2019.

One of the policies in the Implementing Rules & Regulations for RA 11293 as contained in the “Joint NEDA-DOST-DTI Administrative Order No. 01 Series Of 2020” is this:

The State recognizes the importance of an effective and efficient innovation ecosystem that addresses and delivers action in various policy areas, including MSME development, education, trade, investment, finance, and agriculture, sustainable energy, climate change, among others. (my underline)

No doubt agriculture is important, nay necessary in the life of a nation – and innovation should make it more so in the name of the 100 million Filipino citizens!

The above image shows Mr Dar interacting with Batch 69 of his alma mater in the Santa Maria campus of the Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College. The occasion is the inauguration of the Dr William Dollente Dar Research & Innovation Center.

Mr Dar is from a poor family in Danuman West, Santa Maria. Unhappily his family could not send him to high school and on to college, but happily his uncle Agustin did. He took his elementary grades and high school at the now ISPSC – with that Innovation Center, there is a mutual statement, “Thank you!”

He finished BS Agriculture major in Education at the Benguet State University (BSU), where he rose from the ranks to Vice President of BSU. From there, Mr Dar was so good at R&D that he became the founding Director of the Bureau of Agricultural Research in 1987 and stayed until 1994, when in the same year he became the Director General of the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD). He was DG for PCARRD until 1998. R&D was where he showed his innovativeness.

In 2000, he became the Director General (DG) of the India-based International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). Unprecedented, he was DG for 15 years (3 terms); from innovation to innovation, during his term, Jan 2000-Dec 2014, he brought ICRISAT from dead last to #1 among the 15 agricultural research agencies under the CGIAR.

You can gauge William Dar’s innovativeness at ICRISAT by this Vision/Mission/Slogan alone: “Science with a human face.”

If I understand the process of innovation well, as the above superimposed image of the re-invented bicycle shows (image[2] from FutureLearn.com), you introduce something new to the old and make it better – with the bicycle, it will run better and/or look better. Surely, innovation should make anybody proud!@517

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[1]https://reginaqueenmotherearth.blogspot.com/2021/12/with-pagtanaw-2050-nast-dreams-blue.html

[2]https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/the-worlds-greatest-innovations

With Pagtanaw 2050, NAST Dreams Blue; With His 22” ViewSonic, Frank Dreams Green

The PH National Academy of Science & Technology (NAST) came out last month with the book titled Pagtanaw 2050 (Foresight 2050). To NAST, the future Philippines is blue: “A Prosperous, Archipelagic, Maritime Nation.”

NAST is attached to the Department of Science & Technology (DoST). Of Pagtanaw, Geraldine Bulaon-Ducusin says, “DoST Innovation Is Not Just Technologies, Says National Academician[1]” (24 November 2021, DoST.gov.ph):

The Pagtanaw 2050 compendium listed 207 technologies that will push the country to become a prosperous archipelagic, maritime nation in 30 years.

Foresight 2050 focuses on technologies to turn the Philippines into a wealthy archipelago from treasures found in its island waters.

Among the key operational areas identified are the following: blue economy, governance, business and trade, digital technology/ICT, science education and talent retention, food security and nutrition, health systems, energy, water, environmental change, shelter, transportation and other infrastructure, and space exploration.

Jerome Suplemento II says (26 Nov 2021, “The Philippines In 2050: NAST Scientists Map Our (Possible) Future In Extensive Study[2],” Philstarlife.com):

What could the Philippines be like by the year 2050? What might happen to our natural resources? What will our cities and countryside look like? And what can the average Filipino expect in terms of life expectancy, nutrition, education, and job prospects?

These are just some of the many difficult questions that the… NAST undertook to answer in an extensive study (recorded in the book) Pagtanaw 2050: The Philippine Foresight In Science, Technology, And Innovation, launched during the 2021 National Science and Technology Week this November.

Note: In the list cited by Jerome, 1^st item is: “Natural resources” – that term 1^st includes soil. Because NAST excluded Agriculture, an agriculturist and a blogger, in my ViewSonic, green disappears!

By territory, the NAST covers science, technology and innovation (STI) – as according to the science authorities: Does that mean Agriculture does not need STI?

More than a year in development and spanning over 360 pages, (Foresight) 2050 brings to bear the full measure of the intellectual weight of the NAST’s experts, thought leaders, and allies across various fields on the task of (foreseeing) the potential opportunities and pitfalls that await Philippine science, technology, and innovation (STI) over the next three decades.

Foresight 2050 misses PH Agriculture!

Foresight 2050 is a DoST-sponsored national attempt that brings the intellectual weight of the “NAST experts, thought leaders, and allies” on opportunities and obstacles in the areas of STI up to 2050.

At this point, I will now say this: I checked out 4 media reports on Pagtanaw 2050 – from DoST, NEDA, PhilStar and PNA – and noneof them mentions Agriculture as a key operational area (koa)! Why?! Don’t tell me that it’s because it will make the list of 12 koas into 13, an unlucky number! That’s not science.

Now then, I interpret Foresight 2050 that it does not want me to think of Agriculture as an aspect of the Philippines that NAST considers valuable enough thinking about in terms of science, technology and innovation. Now then, I cannot think green!?@517

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[1]https://www.dost.gov.ph/knowledge-resources/news/72-2021-news/2560-innovation-is-not-just-technologies-says-national-academician.html

[2]https://philstarlife.com/geeky/810547-the-philippines-in-2050-nast-scientists-foresight-the-future-in-extensive-study?page=2

Glasgow Conference Of Parties (CoP26) Should Have Included Climate Activists & Farmers!

I almost forgot: The Rappler story on the Conference of Parties #26 (CoP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, was a huge disappointment to me, not because of the reporters but because of what the CoP26 did and did not do!

The news written by Tony La Viña, Joy Reyes & Tonichi Regalado dated 02 Dec 2021, “Our Experience In The Glasgow Climate Conference[1],” of 1,315 words (including title, excluding authors), showed me, a climate change activist since 2007, that:

CoP26 was 2 times a disaster: (1) a chaos of procedure (CoPr) as well as (2) a curtailment of participation (CoPa) – CoPr because of the pandemic restrictions, which is understandable, and CoPa because of the non-inclusion of climate activists and farmers, which is unforgivable!

The Rappler reporters do declare categorically:

As always, the real work lies outside of COP. It lies in government policies created after the fortnight of negotiations, and the projects and plans implemented post-COP.

Does Rappler mean we citizens are not encouraged to play our active role/s in fighting climate change?

Digitally, I myself have been sifting information about climate change in the last 14 years, having written as early as March 2007 on the intellectual & scientific works of Al Gore and the Inter-Governmental Panel for Climate Change (IGPCC), my blogging happening 7 months beforethey were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 2007 (see my essay, “Primate Change Or Climate Change? You Choose! – The Blogal Village Voice[2],” 03 March 2007, The American Frank, WordPress.com).

I forgive the pandemic chaos but not the inferior thinking that went behind and dictated the entire CoP26 – farmers as well as climate activists should have been included as active participants – the People’s Panel!

The Gas Guzzlersand Energy Eaters will always show that they do listen in any climate conference, but will keep on producing alibis to postpone what they should be doing, while the People’s Panel would be pushing intellectually with all their might.

For instance, I have firsthand knowledge that farmers are guilty not only of applying chemical fertilizers and pesticides on their crops and livestock, but also of constantly interfering with the natural processes of growth and regrowth.

In the Philippines alone, there are millions of hectares of farms – their unnatural farming contributes much to global warming. Chemical farming is pro-Climate Change!

Such realities should have been discussed in CoP26 – and subsequent Conference of Parties.

Now then, this climate activist says government policies regarding climate change should provide policies that cover programs that are clearly addressed against climate change.

And that is why as an agriculturist and a warrior writer for village development, I am intent on promoting regenerative agriculture (RegINA), whose practices from beginning to end work alongwith Mother Nature, not against her. RegINA restores what millions of farmers destroy by their careless & chemical agriculture, and thereby RegINA produces healthy environments as well as healthy foods for everyone.

I see RegINA as the David that will slay the Goliath called Climate Change!@517

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[1]https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/opinion-experience-cop26-climate-conference-glasgow-scotland/

[2]https://theamericanfrank.wordpress.com/

40 Tips To Live & Love Day After Day, Reminding All Every Time To Choose Happiness!

Today Christmas Day, 25 December 2021, here are 40 Live & Love Tips to love more ourselves, our families, and others, the way God wants us to love. Every single day.

Inspired by a Facebook sharing of Filipina Isabel Mildred Anunciado Tan, what follows is my editing of “50 Life Lessons[1]” by American writer Regina Brett (Reginabrett.com); I have reduced the list for non-Americans; no numbering, but it is now a biblically meaningful list of 40:

*Life isn't fair, but it's still good.”

“When in doubt, just take the next small step.”

“Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.”

“Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.”

“Cry with someone: It's more healing than crying alone.”

“It's OK to get angry with God: He can take it.”

“When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.”

“Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.”

“Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journeys are all about.”

“If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.”

“Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry, God never blinks.”

“If you want to be a writer, write.”

“It's never too late to have a happy childhood, but the second one is up to you.”

“When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.”

“Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie: Don't save it for a special occasion; Today is special.”

“Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.”

“The most important sex organ is the brain.”

“No one is in charge of your happiness except you.”

“Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"“

“Always choose life.”

“Forgive everyone everything.”

“What other people think of you is none of your business.”

“Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.”

“However good or bad a situation is, it will change.”

“Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.”

“Believe in miracles.”

“God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.”

“Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.”

“Your children get only one childhood: Make it memorable.”

“Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.”

“Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.”

“Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.”

“All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.”

“Envy is a waste of time. “

“The best is yet to come.”

“No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.”

“Take a deep breath: It calms the mind.”

“If you don't ask, you don't get.”

“Yield.”

“Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.”

Towards loving life daily. In short, whatever your reaction to the world, it must be borne out of love!@517

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[1]https://www.reginabrett.com/50-life-lessons

PH Farmers Want Cost Of Fertilizer Way Down – Much Better, Yield & Net Income Way Up!

Facebook sharing today, Thursday, 23 Dec 2021: I see Secretary of Agriculture William Dar acknowledging the multi-faceted problem in the “Hike In Fertilizer Prices:”

The Department of Agriculture, through the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA), recognizes the ongoing plight of local farmers relative to the hike in fertilizer prices. With increased farm production expenses (vis-à-vis increased fertilizer prices) comes a reduction of profit margins.
Why are the prices of fertilizers increasing?
Can FPA control the prices?
FPA attributes the current price hike to the following: 1) liberalization of fertilizers; 2) the country as a net importer of fertilizers; 3) strengthened global fertilizer demand; 4) increased prices of raw materials, and 5) increase(d) transport and logistical costs.

I say: Sellers of fertilizers care more about their margins than about farmers’ incomes. We all know:

It’s all Economics, Costs & Returns, and nobody can break those Laws. Consequently, the farmers should care more about their farming and decrease their costs much in order to increase their returns much! And they can pick up a few lessons from what Mr Dar is sharing with young agribiz minds.

Here’s a 20 December Facebook sharing of Mr Dar by Noel Ocampo Reyes:

Secretary Dar’s 10 Hot Tips For Young Farmers And Agripreneurs:

1.     Do agribusiness with a heart.

2.     Eyes on the market.

3.     Be infomediaries.

4.     Take to heart the OneDA Reform Agenda as your operations manual.

5.     Go for economies of scale.

6.     Adopt a modern mindset.

7.     Immerse yourselves in the value chain.

8.     Social enterprise is necessary,.

9.     There is money in agriculture.

10. Interact with us boomers.

Let’s take up just #1 – Agribusiness: I say you must be business-hearted. You must be serious in considering reducing the cost of your growing rice: Simply decrease your cost and you simply increase your profit. However, whatever, wherever, whichever, whyever – it’s your choice.

If I were the farmer, my first choice would be not to reduce the fertilizer that I use, amount and/or frequency of applying – but not to use fertilizer at all!

If I were a farmer, my first choice would be what I call now, to be melodramatic about it and memorable, Mulching Matilda. Calling the rotavator “Matilda,” this is what I will cause to happen:

Matilda cuts into the surface of the field shallowly, with all those weeds and crop refuse waiting, so that her rotavator blades cut & mix at the same time soil, weeds & crop refuse – mixing them automatically into a mulch as well as spreading that fresh mulch evenly over the field. Isn’t that wonderful?! Immediately and automatically, that mulch begins to deteriorate as a source of organic fertilizer as well as moisture for the crop.

No fertilizer whatsoever, just the Matilda Mulch! This is my single & complete source of fertilizers, plural, and my irrigation water at the same time. Almost inexhaustible.

If you doubt the scientific value of my Mulching Matilda, I challenge anyone to arrange for a techno demo – your farming alongside my farming!@517

In Union, There’s Millions! Cotabato Corn Farmers Earn P4.3 Million Net In 2 Croppings

In the Philippines, corn is second to rice as staple food – how about farmers’ earnings? Early this December, I’m looking at P2.8 Million net income of a group of 25 Cotabato corn farmers in their 2^ndcropping, an individual net of P112,000. There must be gold in dem dar hills!

This is the inspiring output of the labors of the “993 Farmer’s Association” in Barangay 993 in Alamada, Cotabato in the group's  2^ndcorn cropping, with the full assistance of the Special Area for Agriculture Development (SAAD) Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA). It’s an outstanding lesson in public-private cooperation in farming.

The report is by Jennifer Valcobero (17 Dec 2021, “Cotabato Corn Farmers Earn P4.1M From Second Cropping[1],” saad.da.gov.ph). The harvest was from 28 Nov to 05 Dec by the 25-member group farming 25 ha of corn.

Association President Nelly Eulogio said:

I’m so grateful to SAAD for reaching our far-flung area and lending their help and sustaining our needs, for the assistance they have given to our association. Because of SAAD intervention, our association earned a huge income from the yields we got from planting corn that the SAAD has shared with us.

Mr Eulogio also said that “he was able to reconstruct his house and help his grandchildren pay for their school fees through his P300,000 share (of) the income.”

Group member Rowin Eulogio said:

SAAD changed our lives. Before, I couldn’t even send my kids to school due to (lack of) financial support. (After) I became the beneficiary of SAAD projects, I successfully got a higher yield in planting corn. It helped me pay my debts, sustain my family needs, and pay my kids’ school fees.

How important is corn in the Philippines? According to ANN (Author Not Named, 22 Dec 2021, Rfo3.da.gov.ph)[2]:

Corn is the second most important crop in the Philippines. About 14 million Filipinos prefer white corn as their main staple, and yellow corn accounts for about 50% of livestock mixed feeds. Some 600,000 farm households depend on corn as a major source of livelihood,

In the Philippines, we usually look at corn as the staple food of poorer Filipinos. We were not poor, but when I was young, during lean months, that is, in-between rice harvests, my father (he was the cook) would mix corn with rice for a meal – and I found it delicious!

For the Cotabato corn farmer details, Ms Jennifer says:

From November 28 to December 5, the group with 25 members harvested 2,848 sacks of corn, weighing 209,753 kilograms (from a) 25-hectare corn (field)… After deducting the (costs of) hauling, drying, and other expenses, the group arrived at a net income of P2.8 million [higher (than) from their 1st cropping of P1.5 million].

That 2^nd income is almost 2 times higher than the 1st! The data tells me that DA’s financial and technical assistances work like magic when farmers work together and do their best.

When government singularly assist farmers to assist themselves mutually, millions happen!@517

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[1]http://saad.da.gov.ph/2021/12/cotabato-corn-farmers-earn-php-4-1m-from-second-cropping/?fbclid=IwAR1edZ72xobNYzzqu96EhxvzICr6lf7Tk2fp0F_v6wLLC3rNxOw1WzNvPEU

[2]https://rfo3.da.gov.ph/corn-program/

Primate Change – How We Can Help Queen Mother Earth Fight Climate Change

The United Nations (UN) has always been Negative about Climate Change, while I have always been Positive about Primate Change!

In 2007, I blogged, “The Boys Who Cried Wolf. Stop The Fire. Stay The Ice. Start The Peace[1]” (07 Feb, Frank A Hilario, Blogspot.com). Referring to the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), I wrote: “In relation to data in the past 250 years, it has been seen that: There is global warming….” 2007 was the year Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize because of his one-man campaign against global warming/climate change.

14 years and the globe keeps warming.
To stop Climate Change,
we need Primate Change!

On 31 March 2007, I blogged, “Primate Change? Or Climate Change? You Choose![2]” – The Blogal Village Voice” (The American Frank, WordPress.com).

We primates have notchanged. And so we have the IPCC reporting, “Devastating Floods, Heat, Droughts To Worsen In PH For Next 30 Years – UN Report[3]” (12 August 2021, Pia Ranada, Rappler.com). Ms Pia says:

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.

The IPCC is telling us global catastrophes “will keep worsening … no matter what steps we take today to slash emission.” I reject that science!

My science tells me otherwise. I sing what Joan Baez sang in 1965: “We Shall Overcome[4].”

And my science is? Regenerative Agriculture. Here is Kaitlyn Ersek enumerating the “top 5 benefits of regenerative agriculture[5]” (28 February 2019, Holganix.com):

Building soil health
Maintaing crop yeild
Increasing crop resilience
Improving farm profitability
Helping solve climate change.

Yes, the original #2 reads thus, “Maintaing crop yeild” – we all have to be careful not only with our science but also our English. It should read: “Maintaining crop yield.” This is a UP Los Baños agriculturist, and longtime Editor In Chief, speaking.

Nonetheless, I’m extremely glad that Ms Kaitlyn begins her regenerative list with “Building soil health,” because, personally, I believe, that that is where intelligent agriculture begins.

CropForLifealso lists 5 benefits of regenerative agriculture[6] (Team CFL, “Advantages And Disadvantages Of Regenerative Agriculture,” 11 August 2021, Cropforlife.com), and these are: “(1) Keep soil covered. (2) Maintain living root(s) year-round. (3) Minimize soil disturbance. (4) Integrate livestock. (5) Maximize crop diversity.”

Comparing the Holganix and CropForLife lists, I see that they both begin with soil health. And neither mentions “higher” crop yield – “maintaining crop yield” with organic substances is enough.

The science proves that regenerative agriculture begins with soil health. Starting 55 years ago, with my instructions, my brother-in-law & grade-schooler Inso Casasus in my hometown Asingan, Pangasinan, consistently showed that buildingthe organic matter of the soil increases rice yield automatically – dramatically!@517

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[1]http://frankahilario.blogspot.com/2007/02/boys-who-cried-wolf_6391.html?q=see+my+essay

[2]https://theamericanfrank.wordpress.com/

[3]https://www.rappler.com/environment/devastating-floods-heat-droughts-worsen-philippines-united-nations-climate-change-report/?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3SIvaFUNNOKjW1GHM6vVHna3tTFQfsE82P2J7fjYXIoLGhHYiRMeotKr0#Echobox=1639822504

[4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM39QUiAsoM

[5]https://www.holganix.com/blog/top-5-benefits-of-regenerative-agriculture-infographic

[6]https://cropforlife.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-regenerative-agriculture/