IRRI Director General Jean Balié And Philippine President BBM Talking About Modern Agriculture 29 Nov 2022. What’s In It For Farmer Poverty? Asking For A Friend!

Top image: PH President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr. and IRRI Director General Jean Balié walk through an all-yellow field, rice promising a rich harvest. The plants are short, as they do not reach the knees of the walkers. That’s a modern technology that IRRI has for the world. This agriculturist is impressed.

And so was BBM, naturally. He was visiting IRRI yesterday, Tuesday, 29 Nov 2022 (Manila). Betheena Unitesays he said (“Marcos Bats For Rice Industry Modernization,” Manila Bulletin, mb.com.ph):

There are new technologies that address the problems that we are facing, and that those technologies are beginning to be disseminated down to the local farmers.

The pandemic and the situation in Ukraine have been a glaring reminder of how fundamental the agricultural sector is and food supply is to not only in the Philippines but to the entire world.

As an agriculturist, I am glad that my President BBM recognizes “How fundamental the agricultural sector is.”

The other concern yesterday was modern technologies to improve PH Agriculture. Thus, these reports from: Job Manahan, “IRRI's New Technologies Appropriate To Philippines, Says Marcos Jr” (ABS-CBN, news.abs-cbn.com). Samuel P Medenilla, “PBBM: New Technologies At IRRI To Boost Rice Yield” (BusinessMirror, businessmirror.com.ph). Azer Parrocha, “Gov’t Must Use Technologies To Improve Agri Sector: Marcos” (PNA, pna.gov.ph).  Betheena Unite, “Marcos Bats For Rice Industry Modernization” (Manila Bulletin, mb.com.ph):

Similarly, other media in the Philippines reported on BBM with emphasis on IRRI’s modern technologies for agriculture not only in the Philippines but in other tropical countries.

What I failed to find in all those news items is my President BBM, as Acting Secretary of Agriculture, saying anything about the role of Agriculture – and therefore Farmers – in Climate Change.

It cannot be denied that Agriculture contributes much to Climate Change.

The World Bank says, “Agriculture is a major part of the climate problem. It currently generates 19-29% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions” (05 April 2021, “Climate-Smart Agriculture,” worldbank.org). The GHGs are the ones that directly create global warming etc.

What can we do to reduce GHGs? Resolve with Organic Agriculture. What about Farmer Poverty? Solve with Organic Agriculture!
(“Sad State” from youtube.com)

Let us urge BBM to urge farmers to junk “Chemical Agriculture” (CA), which generates much of the GHGs, and resort to “Regenerative Agriculture” (RA). If RA is strange to you, “Organic Agriculture” (OA) should not be, and OA is part of the broad concept of RA.

I know. I have been writing off and on about organic agriculture in the last 57 years! In 1965, as a new graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture (now UP Los Baños), I wrote in the student paper Aggie Green & Gold as well as the Philippines Free Press.

Better yet, BBM should appoint a regular head of the Department of Agriculture, and I have one person in mind, the immediate former Secretary of Agriculture – William Dar. We need his “New Thinking for Agriculture”!@517