And God Said, “Let There Be Love!” And Man Began To Love Himself And Called It “Science”

In the last few weeks, before my 82^nd birthday on Saturday, 17 Sept 2022, I had been saying every morning upon waking up and every evening laying down to sleep: “Thank you Lord, for another day. Thank you Lord, for my family.” Now I have printed that and pasted on the wall above my wooden bed. (I'm glad I have a bed!)

Actually, I have been asking God to let me live up to 100! I want to serve my country longer, an agriculturist engaged in what I call Communication for Village Development in the 21_­^stCentury (CoViD21). This began in 1975-1981, when I founded and became Editor In Chief of the 3 publications of the Forest Research Institute (FORI): monthly newsletter Canopy, quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop, and quarterly color magazine Habitat.

In publication, those FORI years were the “Days of the Dinosaurs” (giant typewriters) and the typesetters, and it took days or weeks to print a newsletter, or journal, or magazine. But my heartwas in the writing and editing and the waiting for the publication to come off the press – for my readers.

Thank God, today, there is no waiting when it comes to publishing: Write now, edit now, publish now. Since 2000 in numerous blogs and thousands of essays, millions of words, I have been writing, among other things, about being good foresters, good loggers, and good farmers – Conservation. Except the term, I did not invent it: “Science with love.”
(“Heart” from crosswalk.com)

Today, 2 years after I began to write about Regenerative Agriculture (RA) – see my essay, “Regenerative Farming – Enriching The Soil Enriching The Farmers” (29 Oct 2020, Brains & Beauty Agriculture, blogspot.com– I am publicly asking the Creator to extend my life – my father Dionisio died at 95 and my mother Sixta at almost 100 – so that I can serve my country longer and more in the open field of restorative, recuperative, reproductive, Regenerative Agriculture.

Especially now that Climate Change is wreaking havoc on our lives – you may know Climate Change as more frequent & destructive typhoons and floods.

I know that Agriculture is a great contributor to Climate Change via the greenhouse gases (GHGs) generated by chemical fertilizers – which our farmers love to apply in abundance! They are enamored with high yields, and ignore the high prices not only in costs to their pockets but also to the environment – as well as to their health, as well as to our health.

It is time that Chemical Agriculture endure a Climate Change to Regenerative Agriculture!

No, Regenerative Agriculture (RA) is not rocket science. Here are “10 Regenerative Agriculture Practices Every Grower Should Follow” (heliae, heliae.com):

1.     Reduced or No-Till Farming Practices

2.     Cover Cropping

3.     Composting

4.     Increasing Crop Diversity

5.     Organic Annual Cropping

6.     [Proprietary soil amendment product]

7.     Animal Integration

8.     Managed Grazing

9.     Silvopasture

10. Agroforestry.

Today, if you don’t understand anybody’s science, you simply go Google – or ask people via Facebook. I pray for Man the best is yet to come!@517

“Food Is An Existential Imperative, And A Moral One” – PH President BBM. “Healthy Food Is An Existential Imperative, And A Moral One” – PH Resident FAH

My President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr’s speech at the 77^th UN General Assembly was/is a superb intellectualization of the world’s aspirations in both food and security – Congratulations, BBM Sir!

BBM says (from full text of UNGA speech, 21 Sept 2022, PhilStar, philstar.com):

This world order traces its roots to seventy-seven years ago. Your first Asian predecessor, Mr President, [Filipino] General Carlos P Romulo, called on our leaders then to “make this floor our last battlefield, to determine in this hall whether humanity is to survive or be wiped out in another holocaust.” Our peoples chose survival. They chose cooperation. They chose peace. And by doing so, they made history.

Why not the Filipino leading the United Nations again, this time in Agriculture fighting the cause of today’s holocaust, Climate Change?

After “Peace,” BBM talks about “Food.” He says:

This requires investment in food security, the fragility of which has been clearly demonstrated by the pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine. We need to take concrete steps towards a modern and resilient agriculture. For food is not just a trade commodity nor it is just a livelihood. It is an existential imperative, and a moral one. It is the very basis of human security.

As agriculturist, I Filipino qualify:

Food must be secure – and healthy. To amplify BBM, “Good food is the very basis of human security.” Good food is an imperative!
(“Imperative” from interventionalnews.com; “Good Food” from kcrw.com)

BBM also says, “We need to take concrete steps towards a modern and resilient agriculture.”

To attain food self-sufficiency and security, we are providing innovative solutions and financial support to farmers and fisher-folk to adapt new technologies and connect to national and global value supply chains. We look forward to forging cooperation with the UN and our partners to boost agricultural productivity and food security.

Food productivity and security. I know that when BBM says “innovative solutions,” he means within the purview of current methods of producing food, encompassed in the term “Chemical Agriculture” (CA).

As a journalist, I am about to qualify that. As you can discern in the images displayed above this essay, being an agriculturist who has considered Climate Change, I know that CA has proven to be quite innovative but it is not what we need:

Worldwide, experts know that CA is a major producer of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that produce Climate Change. If we want to stop Climate Change, I say we need “Primate Change” – we stop CA and resort to Regenerative Agriculture (RA):

It is imperative that we have healthy, regenerative food!

When BBM says “resilient agriculture,” his premise is Chemical Agriculture. His advisers are wrong in that sense, because as we can see, it is the current Chemical Agriculture practiced all over the world that is generating much of the GHGs generating much of the environmental damages creating havoc all over the world.

BBM Sir! Only Regenerative Agriculture will give us healthy foods – and a healthy world!@517

“Save” Sierra Madre Mountain Range? We Have To Do More Than Save – We Have To “Conserve” The Resources!

Sunday, 25 Sept, the news in the Philippines was on the destruction by super-typhoon “Karding” (Noru). Today, Monday, the news shared on many a Facebook post is “Save Sierra Madre.” The one that caught my attention was that of Anamarie Ribunal Garcia sharing from Pangasinan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Office (PDRRMO).

(“Save Sierra” from Anamarie Ribunal Garcia, Facebook)

I'm from Pangasinan (Asingan); it surprises me that only the post from my province’s PDRRMO is being shared – Pangasinan is more environmentally aware than the other PDRRMOs? Another surprise: The sharer Anamarie is from my hometown! Meaning: Pangasinan is far from the Sierra Madre Mountain Range but we Pangasinenses are more conservation-conscious than the 10 other provinces actually located along the Sierra Madre Range: Aurora, Bulacan, Cagayan, Isabela, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Quezon, Quirino, and Rizal. Wake up, Sierra Madre Rip Van Winkle people!

And yes, on Facebook, Rea Reyes Dizon shares (yes, she is from Pampanga, which is not in the range list): “Sierra Madre Mountain, known as ‘Luzon’s backbone’ acts as nature’s shield against super-typhoon Karding!” Now then, like Ms Rea, this essay from me should wake up those 10 Sierra Madre provinces from their self-induced stupor!

Also on Facebook, the UPLB Forestry Society says it “stands in solidarity with the nationwide call to ‘Save Sierra Madre’” (26 Sept 2022).

With its long history, the Sierra Madre Mountain Range is habituated by native Filipinos, native plant species especially trees – and “handled” by nativemethods of cultivating the hillsides, as well as modern methods of logging. How conservation-conscious are the practices? Above, as we can see from the lower image, the Sierra Madre is hardly being conserved at all. The yellowish color of the mountains reflects much lack of vegetation!
(Sierra Madre photograph taken in 2017, from traveltothephilippines.info)

(I was Editor In Chief of the Forest Research Institute (FORI), 1975-1981; I visited Taggat Industries, loggers, in Cagayan, for an article in Habitat, color magazine of FORI. I didn’t explore the area, so I didn’t know how good was Taggat in “Selective Logging,” the conservation mandate at that time.)

What I'm trying to say is this: “If you want to save the Sierra Madre, you have to pursue Resource Conservation. You cannot have a Healthy Planet without Healthy People without Healthy Planet Practices.

To conserve, not simply save the Sierra Madre, I recommend these:

(1)   Farmersalong the range, natives or not – Practice agroforestry and not any “slash-and-burn-and plant” method. They must see to it that the hillsides are constantly covered with organic matter where they are growing their crops.

(2)   Loggers along the range, big and small, practice conservation – Follow the precepts of “Selective Logging,” which allows the cutting down of only certain mature trees with a minimum diameter at breast height.

What I want to say is that agriculture as practiced on the Sierra Madre must follow principles of Regenerative Agriculture. Thus: Keeping soil covered with different crops, including trees. Applying zero chemical fertilizers and pesticides!@517

PH Sea Level Rising 3 Times World Average, PH Storms Visiting 3 Times In Less Than 1 Month – "St Padre Pio, Pray For Us!"

Francesco “Padre Pio” Forgione died 54 years ago, was declared Saint by Pope John Paul II 16 June 2002, and for us Roman Catholics, 23 Sept has been declared “Feast of Saint Pio” – and I join the celebration as an aggie journalist worried about Climate Change, clinging to Saint Padre Pio’s advice: “I recommend calm and calm all the time.” A companion advice from this Saint is, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”

(“PH Sea Level” from Gie Limos’ Facebook sharing; “I recommend” from 206tours.com).

Wikipedia says (“Padre Pio,” en.wikipedia.org):

Padre Pio was not especially concerned with politics, but voted in Italian elections and voiced his opinions on various issues. He initially felt that Benito Mussolini had done a good job during his rule, but his feelings on Mussolini… became negative as time passed. When visited by one of Mussolini's messengers, Pio yelled at the man, "So now you come to me, after you have destroyed Italy. You can tell Mussolini that nothing can save Italy now! Nothing!"

“Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” Padre Pio said famously. On the wall above my wooden bed is a handwritten sign in Pentel pen by my daughter Graciela that says:

Do not worry
PRAY, HOPE
God is in control

Not especially concerned with politics myself, I have always voted. My feelings about PH presidents have become negative as time passes – and typhoons and floods have been wreaking havoc in our cities and countryside, especially destroying farms and livelihoods. Am I about to say to any spokesman of Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr that nothing can save the Philippines now?! No.

I believe these: We Catholics can pray to St Padre Pio to intercede for us. But we Filipinos must help ourselves in the matter of Primate Change and Climate Change – we primates must learn to practice Regenerative Agriculture (RA) all over the country to solve farmer poverty, and to resolve super typhoons and floods and droughts and such brought about by Climate Change.

I have high hopes. That is why I keep blogging to convince thinking Filipino farmers to practice Regenerative Agriculture (RA) if they want to save themselves first – and their country in a little while. What our farmers practice is Chemical Agriculture (CA), which keeps them poor, and which generates greenhouse gases – which brings about those super typhoons!

Indeed, RA inputs are much cheaper than CA inputs and, therefore, farmers will easily earn more without thinking! It comes naturally. The organic matter helps enrich soils that grow healthy crops that produce healthy foods that keep customers healthy and pockets of farmers full – RA will make happen.

Without chemical fertilizers, how to make RA easier and even cheaper for every farmer new or experienced, but especially the new? I have in mind to reinvent the rotavator so that it creates on the spot and all over the field a layer of organic mulch automatically! But I need a little financing to achieve this organic miracle. Any takers?@517

Vietnam Is Right In Its Pursuit Of Agricultural Development – World Bank Is In Error In Its Pursuit Of Accuracy In Reporting Progress In Regenerative Agriculture!

"Vietnam Becomes Vice President Of UN General Assembly” – Isn’t That Great News!? Not accordingto World Bank, considering Vietnam’s agricultural outputs in terms of efficiency, farmer welfare, and product quality (Open Knowledge Repository, openknowledge.worldbank.org).

(“UN General Assembly” from Ramon Yedra’s Facebook sharing; “Vietnamese farmer” from borgenproject.org)

Read! The World Bank writes (26 April 2019, “Transforming Vietnamese Agriculture: Gaining More For Less” (source above cited):

Over the past quarter century, Vietnam’s agricultural sector has made enormous progress. Vietnam’s performance in terms of agricultural yields, output, and exports, however, has been more impressive than its gains in efficiency, farmer welfare, and product quality. Vietnamese agriculture now sits at a turning point…

Vietnam’s agricultural progress made at the expense of efficiency, farmer welfare, and product quality – I don’t want that to happen to my country, the Philippines!

Going forward, Vietnam’s agricultural sector needs to generate more from less. That is, it must generate more economic value – and farmer and consumer welfare – using less natural and human capital and less harmful intermediate inputs.

World Bank is saying Vietnam must generate more farmer and consumer welfare. It is also saying Vietnam must use “less natural and human capital” and “less harmful” inputs – I don’t understand “less natural.” I am sure of the words because I triple-checked the original text online – I hope this is simply  a huge grammatical (not technical) error – if so, they need a world-class Executive Editor! (World Bank, PM me on Facebook if you will.)

Under Regenerative Agriculture (RA), which I am proselytizing for my country, more natural inputs are called for – in fact, RA requires zero harmful inputs!

In a separate report but the same website, World Bank says:

Like most countries in the world, Vietnam is increasingly seeing its development affected by climate change. With a coastline of 3,260 kilometers that includes major cities and production sites, Vietnam is highly exposed to sea-level rise.

My dear Philippines has a coastline of 36,289 km (parispe.dfa.gov.ph), or 11 times longer than Vietnam’s. That is to say, we Filipinos are much, much more vulnerable to climate change than the Vietnamese. All the more reason for Filipinos to mind what they are doing about climate change – and my mind is on Regenerative Agriculture!

Is Regenerative Agriculture in the minds of the Vietnamese? A report says, “Toward Regenerative Agriculture,” Vietnam Business Forum, vccinews.com):

To bring down greenhouse gas emissions, it is necessary to closely link the transition to ecological agriculture… Tens of thousands of farming households in the Central Highlands switching to regenerative agriculture, with clear effects, showed how the matter is solved to realize commitments.

Yes!

Hoang Van Son, a coffee farmer in Ea Ktur commune… said: “When switching to regenerative agriculture, we no longer use herbicides… leaves are spread [over] to create humus to fertilize the soil… As a result, the income rises from VND100 million to VND190 million per hectare.”

Now then, I say, “Congratulations to Vietnam on its fulfilling journey towards Regenerative Agriculture!”@517

“Organic Agriculture Equals Crop Rotation” – Frank A Hilario, UPLB Agriculturist ‘65 (24-09-2022)

How do I explain to my President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr about “Organic Agriculture” and/or “Regenerative Agriculture” – or to anybody else who is neither an agriculturist nor a nosy/noisy farmer? I think this teacher just learned from some Princeton students: “Just learn how to rotate your crops and you will be an excellent organic farmer!”

(“Crop Rotation” from Princeton Students Climate Initiative, psci.princeton.edu)

The Princeton students are telling me:

Crop rotation is the practice of “rotating crops,” or sequentially planting different crops on the same plot of land. This rotation improves soil health, optimizes soil nutrients, and combats pests and weeds. Farmers seek to plant consecutive crops that compliment each other. For example, a farmer may choose to plant beans after planting corn because the beans will return nitrogen to the soil that the corn uses up. Rotations can involve as little as two to three crops and as many as over a dozen.

That is to say, if you are a true believer in organic agriculture, you rotate the lives of your crops in your farm or garden – you just remember that and nothing else.

You don’t have to remember such complicated things as the US Department of Agriculture describes: “Organic producers implement a wide range of strategies to develop and maintain biological diversity and replenish soil fertility” (quoted by Rodale Institute,  rodaleinstitute.org). Simply rotate your crops and you take care of them, and your health, and your soil!

And neither do I want to discuss bio-N, organic compost, cattle manure, poultry droppings, domestic sewage and so on – I want to simplify my life as a blogger to  help any farmer simply his regenerative life!

Yesterday, I blogged “Climate Change Solution – “Big Countries Must Finance Small Countries” – Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr. “Isn’t That Waiting For Godot?” – Frank A Hilario, Asking For A Friend!” Brains & Beauty Agriculture, blogspot.com).

I see it today, Saturday, 24 September 2022 (Manila), “Regenerative Agriculture” ultimately is about regenerative human bodies! “Farm like the world depends on it” – Regenerative Organic Alliance (regenorganic.org). “Because it does” – Frank A Hilario

Regenerative Organic Alliance says:

We imagine a world in which farmers, brands, policymakers, educators, researchers and individuals come together to create a healthy food system that respects land, animals, empowers people, and restores communities and ecosystems through regenerative organic farming.

“That respects, empowers, restores” – that is the agriculture I believe in.

Back to simplifying my life as a blogger pushing for Regenerative Agriculture, I will just have to remember this as my mantra: “Organic Agriculture Equals Crop Rotation.” (And that Organic Agriculture is part and not 100% of Regenerative Agriculture.)

Rodale Institute says, “The future is organic” (Rodale Institute, rodaleinstitute.org). It says of itself: “Rodale Institute has been a global leader in regenerative organic agriculture for over 70 years.”

What else?! Organic agriculture helps solve farmer poverty; at the same time it helps resolve climate change – 2 pressing problems of the Philippines today. So: “The future is organic.” You can’t blame me if I believe 100% in what Rodale Institute is saying!@517

Climate Change Solution – “Big Countries Must Finance Small Countries” – Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr. “Isn’t That Waiting For Godot?” – Frank A Hilario, Asking For A Friend!

As a full-blooded Ilocano, I am thrifty. Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr, my President, is a half-blooded Ilocano, his mother Imelda being one of the Visayans, known to be passionate. I see BBM as more Ilocano than Visayan; as he looks at how the world must respond to The Challenge Of Climate Change: He calls for Big Help For The Small.

Speaking at the 77^thUnited Nations General Assembly in New York City Wednesday, 21 Sept 2022, Manila time, BBM enumerated 4 challenges the world faces today, the first being “Climate Change” (I quote from the full text (from PhilStar, philstar.com):
(“Marcos at UN” from bloomberg.com)

I see four challenges to the continued survival of our global community… First is climate change: The time for [talking] about [if-and-when] has long since passed -- it is here and now. Climate change is the greatest threat affecting our nations and our peoples…

We call on industrialized countries to immediately fulfill their obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreementto cut their greenhouse gas emissions, provide climate financing and technology transfer for adaptation for the most vulnerable and developing countries, to lead by example.

I particularly note: BBM is calling on the big nations to provide climate change financing to the small ones for climate change adaptation. BBM believes that the big countries should provide the small countries assistances in money & technology to combat climate change, the world’s common enemy today.

“Excellent!” I say.

But that would be Waiting For Godot, for which I have no patience. I will now play with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett’s “Godot” as an acronym – “God of Destiny, or of Technology.” I say: “Give me Technology anytime!”

As an agriculturist and a wide-angled “googler” (a word that I invented just now), I know we already have that Technology to resolve the climate crisis. The Small Boys can do something big for their own benefit right now, without the assistances of the Big Boys:

Regenerative Agriculture.
(“Regenerative” image from pinterest.ph)

How much faith do I have personally with “regenerative agriculture/regenerative farming”? Let me count the ways! Writing about the subject, I started 29 Oct 2020 with the essay “Regenerative Farming – Enriching The Soil Enriching The Farmers” (Brains & Beauty Agriculture, blogspot.com); and –

In the last 2 years, I have blogged an unbelievable total of 77 essays, each one exactly 517 words (excluding name of author), a total of 39,809 words, written and published in the last 23 months! Each essay written solely by me. If that does not show you passion, you don’t know what passion is!

Sorry, but I differ with my BBM Sir when it comes to confronting climate change – I believe that Regenerative Agriculture (RA) can solve 2 major national problems at the same time: Farmer Poverty and Climate Change. RA is less cost, more returns, less climate change. And much faster. I don’t want to be waiting for Godot forever!@517

“Masayang Sakahan At Yaman Ng Bayan (Masayang Bayan)! But First You Have To Resolve Farmer Poverty – And Climate Change

Googling as I always do before I write my first draft, I see that a great many technical sources claim that “climate change impacts agriculture” – with negative results. But the opposite is also true and very necessary to know: Agriculture adds muchto the destructive power of climate changethrough fertilizers that produce greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to the climate crisis.

The top image (from ResearchGate, researchgate.net) is accompanied by the label that says, “Diagrammatical presentation of global warming due to fertilizers (Source: FAO 2014b).” Let’s find out more.

Mehmood Ali Nooret al. say (Aug 2019, “Small Farmers and Sustainable N and P Management: Implications and Potential Under Changing Climate:”

Due to fertilizer overload, soil microbes unexpectedly belch high nitrous oxide levels, resulting in the emission of greenhouse gas with 300 times more heat-trapping power compared to carbon dioxide… Soil microbes are known to [be involved] in the conversion of nitrogen-rich fertilizers, including synthetic fertilizers and manure, into nitrous oxide… Based on approximately 1000 field experiments, in the mid-2000s, the climate scientists [were] able to calculate that the dirt dwellers spew almost 1 kg of the greenhouse gas for every 100 kg of fertilizer, or roughly 1%.

That only covers nitrous oxide, which is the deadliest greenhouse gas. Bridget Huber says (01 Nov 2021, “Report: Fertilizer Responsible For More Than 20 Percent Of Total Agricultural Emissions,” Fern’s AG Insider, thefern.org):

Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers are widely used in conventional agriculture to boost productivity. But their production and use takes a huge toll on the environment, emitting carbon dioxide and methane as well as nitrous oxide – an often overlooked but highly potent greenhouse gas that has 265 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide.

Rebecca Hersher & Allison Aubrey say (08 Aug 2019, “To Slow Global Warming, U.N. Warns Agriculture Must Change”):

Emissions from agricultural production are projected to increase," the authors warn. "Delaying action" on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, they continue, "could result in some irreversible impacts on some ecosystems."

The book Climate Change And Agriculture edited by Delphine Deryng (2020) says (taylorfrancis.com):

It has been suggested that agriculture may account for up to 24% of the greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) contributing to climate change.

So! If you ask me, to at least minimize climate change, we resort to 100% Regenerative Agriculture (RA). Synonyms for “regenerative” are “recuperative” and “reproductive” (powerthesaurus.org).

The lower image is from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, illustrating “5 Core Principles Of Regenerative Agriculture” (WBCSD, wbcsd.org), that we have to:
Minimize soil disturbance.
Keep the soil covered.
Integrate livestock.
Maximize crop diversity.
Maintain living root year-round.

I have to add this 6^thentry (personal): “Keep the soil fertile organically.”

Zero GHGs. Hundreds of opportunities to earn higher net returns from farming.

To solve farmer poverty and at the same time help resolve climate change, we must do Regenerative Agriculture. Then we can have Masayang Sakahan At Yaman Ng Bayan (Masayang Bayan, Happy People) – Happy Farms & Richness For People. Happy?@517

“Did You Know PH Had A ‘Golden Time’ During Ferdinand ‘FM’ Marcos’ Presidency? Asking As A Friend!” – Frank A Hilario

This is an FBI speaking, full-blooded Ilocano, with grandfather roots from Rosario, La Union. I'm proud to say I voted for Ferdinand “FM” Marcos Sr in the 1965 elections. Today, amidst all the sad & bad talks & thoughts, as an agriculturist (UPLB ‘65), I reminisce about “Masagana 99” – I call the “Golden Years of PH Agriculture: 1973-1978.”

We exported rice in 1977-78 (“Masagana 99,” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org). (21 Sept is also “World Gratitude Day” – God, thank you for even the little things!)

ANN says, “Masagana 99 Both A Success And A Failure, Experts Say” (Author Not Named, 30 Sept 2020, University of the Philippines Los Baños, uplb.edu.ph):

In 1973, an agricultural program aimed at solving the country’s then-worsening rice shortage was developed. It was called “Masagana 99,” after the Filipino word for “bountiful” and the target number of cavans per hectare of rice to be produced under the program.

According to Edgardo Quisumbing, former deputy implementer of the program, “Masagana 99” was at its core… in response to the severe rice shortage due to pests and natural disasters occurring at the time.

This package, he said, was made up of high-yielding rice varieties and low-cost pesticides and fertilizers, alongside a supervised credit scheme that enabled the farmers to purchase [those technologies].

“Masagana 99” succeeded, and PH exported rice in 1977-78. We showed the world Filipinos could produce the rice we needed, and then some!
(“Masagana 99” from youtube.com)

I was Editor In Chief of the 3 publications of the Forest Research Institute (FORI) at that time – monthly newsletter Canopy, quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop, and quarterly color magazine Habitat. FORI showed the world even self-taught Filipino writers & editors could produce the publications we needed, and excel. Today, why not show the world the intelligence we have?

I know one “good reason” why “Masagana 99” “went bad”– as the number of cavans of rice multiplied, the number of farmer-borrowers defaulting on credit also multiplied!

The major lesson that I see is this: “Government must have faith in the farmers, while the farmers must show faith in the government.”

Today,  21 Sept 2022, the 50^th Anniversary of PH Martial Law, some activists and contrarians bring out anti-Martial Law placards (like, “Never Again, Never Forget”) and their hate.
(“Never Again” from UP-OVCSA,.facebook.com)

They are entitled to their grievances – but what about those who must never forget to live on and hope? What about the farmers and their families who want to live in peace – and prosperity?

That is why some 57 years ago when I discovered it for myself, I embraced the philosophy of Organic Agriculture, now enlarged to Regenerative Agriculture (RA). Today, given Climate Change, enjoying their rights, farmers have the duty to themselves and their country to follow the science of RA that promises to bring them out of poverty and at the same time bring society out of the dangers of Climate Change.

Farmers must enjoy their rights – they must also contribute to the good of society!@517

Humans, We Must Choose Between “Sustainable Development” And “Regenerative Development” – Our Common Future Depends On That Single Choice!

Left: Represented in a single image comprising 5 Ps: “People, Prosperity, Peace, Partnership, Planet” signifying a unified movement called “Sustainable Development” – according to the International Youngnaturefriends (IYNF), a European organization.

The IYNF enumerates and explains the 5 Ps image (iynf.org):

People– End poverty and hunger in all forms and ensure dignity and equality;

Prosperity– Ensure prosperous and fulfilling lives in harmony with nature;

Peace– Foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies;

Partnership– Implement the agenda through a solid global partnership;

Planet – Protect our planet’s natural resources and climate for future generations.

In that powerful single image, I believe that the IYNF has captured the very essence of the term “Sustainable Development.”

Warning: The IYNF says those 5 Ps are “challenges in developing countries.” Developed countries exempted!?

My old problem with “Sustainable Development” (SusDev) is that it allows Chemical Agriculture (CA), that which everyone should know by now is a major cause of Climate Change! And that is why I say, “Sustainable Development is not sustainable!”

SusDev violates the Spirit of Sustainable Development as defined by the World Commission on Environment & Development (1987):

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

How can the future generations meet their own needs when under the SusDev philosophy, natural resources are being destroyed by Climate Change events?! And that is because Chemical Agriculture, which SusDev allows, produces greenhouse gases (GHGs) that generate Climate Change?!

Right: In contrast, consider the right image, from Pixabay (pixabay.com) – it tells us that “Regenerative Development” (RegDev) is the common and right thing to do worldwide, always and ever!

With RegDev, the world moves in a common direction while covering everything and enveloping everybody. RegDev includes the 5 Ps that SusDev includes, and more.

Because Agriculture is my field – BS Agriculture, major in Ag Edu, UP Los Baños 1965 – I will now discuss RegDev in terms of Regenerative Agriculture (RAg), which excludes chemical fertilizers – and includesorganic fertilizers.

Growers Trust lists “some of the most common benefits and advantages linked to organic fertilizers for healthy harvests” (growerstrust.com):

Offer the best nutrients for effective plant growth;
Much more gentle than chemical fertilizers;
Less likely to overfeed your plants;
Not immediately absorbed into the plants;
Can withstand heavy rainstorms and irrigation sessions that could wash away chemical fertilizer;
Soil structure is improved;
Helps for soil to retain nutrients and moisture;
Long-term environmental benefits as they are less likely to contaminate lands and waters;
Far safer to the overall crop for both grazers and farmers.

Don’t forget: With organic fertilizers, you spend less and earn more.

In fact, before the elections, I tried many times to convince the camp of now-President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr, to jump on the bandwagon of Regenerative Agriculture (RAg) – no luck! After the elections, I shifted my attention to Ma'am Leni and Angat Buhay girl friends – no luck either! People, whoever will join me, we can promise the farmers RAgs to Riches!@517

Instead Of Media Awards (Singular), I Blogger Encourage Journalists To Go For Social Rewards (Plural)

Singular Filipina Maria Ressa, CEO of Rappler, already a Nobel Peace Prize winner for journalism, was going to receive a different honor from the Transatlantic Leadership Network (TLN): “Freedom Of The Media Award For Explanatory Reporting” Saturday, 17 Sept 2022 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Should I congratulate Ms Maria, I who has not received any award other than “Outstanding Alumnus For Creative Writing,” historically the first & only recipient in the entire UP System?

As I write this, yesterday, Sept 17 was a VIP (Very Important Point in Time) to me because it was my birthday. And yes, that Freedom Of The Media Award For Explanatory Reportingis a VIP (Very Important Preoccupation) because it gives double importance to the Nobel Prize for Ms Maria’s “Truth Journalism” – her pursuit of the truth and nothing but the truth, so help her God.

A little over a year ago, on 09 Oct 2021, I blogged “Maria Ressa’s Nobel Peace Prize Reporting Vs Frank A Hilario’s Peasant Journalism” (Brains & Beauty Agriculture, blogspot.com). I said there in huge letters:

Yes! Today, even Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalists must recognize that journalism has changed – blogging has reinvented journalism, quantity-wise, quality-wise!

I also said there:

Since January 2020, I have been blogging every single day, even at 81 years of age, practicing my own theory of communication for development [of all villages in the 21_­^st century – CoViD21] that I originated in December 1980. I blog in agriculture and related sciences, digitally available knowledge served byte-size, aimed mostly at public officials, private leaders & businessmen, and literate farmers.

I am proud today that blogging has in fact & effect shifted freedom of personal communication to freedom of social communication for the development of villages.

I can imagine being a Nobel Peace Prize winner in print journalism is an indescribably ecstatic feeling; nonetheless, I know writing for village development is more challenging and everlastingly gratifying.

Now then, I challenge Filipino journalists with/without international honors to practice CoViD21 – my concept. I first concocted “CoViD21” in 2021 – in part “inspired” by the disease “Covid-19” – whereby I blogged on 29 Nov 2021, “Any Of PH Presidential Candidates Has Head Towards Heaven & Eyes Towards The People?” (Brains & Beauty Agriculture, blogspot.com). That’s how I would encourage journalists how to behave: Their Heads towards Heaven and Eyes towards Humanity.
(“Social Rewards” from tech.co)

Yes, the TLN award was for Ms Maria’s “continued safeguarding of freedom of expression” as according to the award-giver. But for the sake of humanity, starting with the Filipinos as her own people, let us beg Ms Maria to now shift her attention to society and come up with explanatory reporting leading to development in her chosen field for the growth & progress of Filipino villages.

On my part, as a blogger, I continue with my engagement in CoViD21 in “Regenerative Agriculture” – being Anti-Farmer Poverty, simultaneouslyanti-Climate Change. Why not a well-known group coming up with “World’s Freedom Of The Media Award For Regenerative Reporting”? My hero!@517

Parable Of The Sower & His (Modern) Hidden Power

How blessed can one be?! Today, Saturday, 17 Sept 2022, my birthday, the gospel is “The Parable Of The Sower” – and I realize this fits my chosen life starting almost 2 years ago when I decided that, at 80, for the rest of the century of my life, I am devoting my journalism to Regenerative Agriculture; now therefore, the gospel is telling me, “Go and be a power sower for the rest of your life!”

Here is the Parable of the Sower as contained in Matthew13 (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition):

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying:

“Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

The parable begins by saying that Jesus was a great preacher, and that he could mesmerize the crowd. This parable speaks of a farmer (sower) who is an unseasoned or careless planter so much so that he did not care whether the seeds he was sowing fell on rocky ground, or weedy spots, or on good soil.

Unfortunately, that farmer in the Bible is not much different from the millions of modern farmers in the Philippines alone!

An alumnus of UP Los Baños, BS Agriculture, major Ag Edu, 1965; counting from 1975, I am an old sower of Science or Knowledge in the fields of Agriculture and Forestry. So I know that our farmers do not practice good modern science in the form of regenerative farming, of which I started to seriously write about almost 2 years ago (read my essay, “Regenerative Farming – Enriching The Soil Enriching The Farmers,” 29 Oct 2020, Brains & Beauty Agriculture, blogspot.com).

If you want the soil to produce much yield, you have to take much care of it first! If you want to produce plenty of healthy foods, you must practice Regenerative Agriculture (RA) – this is God’s power invoked by humans.
(“Growing Resilience” from understandingag.com)

Today, Chemical Agriculture (CA) multiplies each seed the farmer sows into a thirty, or sixty, or hundredfold – but the foods CA produces are an abomination to the bodies of the consumers – because they contain chemical nutrients and pesticide residues – thus, the modern farmer is not much different from the careless sower in the Bible. He must be taught that he has God’s power, RA, hidden in nature as discovered by science!@517

Brains & Beauty For The Philippines – Agriculture With Mind & Heart

My President, Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr. has always been too busy with other issues and interests that I have to change horses in the middle of the stream!

On 22 Jan 2022, I blogged “If Bongbong Marcos (BBM) Will Support Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA), He Will Have My Smart Vote!” Brains & Beauty Agriculture, blogspot.com). In all, I wrote eight (8) essays in my blog trying to attract the attention of BBM to 2 problems of Agriculture that can be solved with regenerative farming: (1) Farmer Poverty and (2) Climate Change.

Sorry, BBM never took notice. So, on 09 May 2022, I voted for Leni Robredo! (See my essay, “Ma'am Leni, Angat Buhay, Remembering Adam & Eve: Here Is How The Females Can Show The Males How To Take Very Good Care Of Their Garden Of Eden!” 17 Aug 2022, Brains & Beauty Agriculture, blogspot.com).

No, I did not know that Ma'am Leni had been interested in Agriculture all along – I thought she was interested only in helping those people in the fringes of society (“mga taong nasa laylayan ng lipunan”) as she described them. Yesterday, 16 Sept 2022, googling for “brains & beauty images” – I found this article by Mara Cepeda: “Robredo To Give At Least P116 Billion For Agriculture If She Wins In 2022” (29 Nov 2021, Rappler, rappler.com).

More than double President Rodrigo Duterte’sbudget for the Department of Agriculture (DA) – Ma'am Leni must know what she was going to do for Agriculture. Brains & Beauty!

Mara says Ma'am Leni “also advocates funding more climate-resilient crops that farmers can harvest in their provinces.”

Funding for more “Climate-resilient crops” – Ma'am Leni has good Agri advice!

About BBM’s State of the Nation Address delivered on 25 July 2022, Rachel Cox says (26 July 2022, “Missing: Environmental And Human Rights Policies Notably Absent From Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s First State Of Nation Address,” global witness, globalwitness.org):

Marcos failed to recognize the destructive impacts of climate change on people and planet, particularly its potential to disrupt the domestic agricultural sector (which employs around one-third of Filipinos) and create food insecurity. Already, future impacts are forecast to be disastrous for people and planet – with predicted increases in extreme weather patterns and climate-related disasters affecting not only the environment but devastating the economy.

“Marcos failed to recognize the destructive impacts of climate change on people and planet” – and so my personal hope lies with the initiatives of Ma'am Leni and her Angat Buhay Foundation. “Angat Buhay Lahat!” Uplifting Lives All!

I as an alumnus of UP Los Baños and a blogger, beginning my digital campaign for pro-farmer Agriculture some 22 years ago, and fighting for Primate Change against Climate Change since 2007, today, my birthday, 17 Sept 2022 – I'm 82, thank God! – to the end of my century, I will fight for Regenerative Agriculture for my country – and I see Ma'am Leni and her Angat Buhay Foundation as allies. Yes, I have found my Brains & Beauties!@517