Watching Germanwatch watching Climate Change within countries of the world – unfortunately, it’s watching Effects, not Causes. Not how to avoid climate change like the plague. There are 195 countries in this planet (Worldometer, worldometers.info); all of them are contributing much to climate change. Stop the United Nations – I want to get off!

More about Germanwatch, Wikipedia says (en.wikipedia.org):

Germanwatch is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Bonn, Germany. It seeks to influence public policy on trade, the environment, and relations between countries in the industrialized north and underdeveloped south… Particular areas of interest include trade in food and agricultural policy, climate change, and corporate accountability.

I note: Germanwatch “seeks to influence public policy on … the environment…” and “Particular areas of interest… climate change.”

On its main page, Germanwatch has 1 image that says (germanwatch.org):

We are facing two major climate challenges. First: To avoid unmanageable levels of climate change – through climate protection. Second: To tackle the inevitable effects of climate change – through adaptation. Germanwatch works on both, equitable and efficient solutions.

There, Germanwatch mentions “adaptation” and “climate protection” – but not “removal” or at least reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that industry and agriculture inevitably produce?! Germanwatch talks about “the inevitable effects of climate change” but not the origins of such avoidable causes! Why is that?

More specifically, why does not Germanwatch discuss how Conventional or Chemical Agriculture (CA) generates so much greenhouse gases – it is the GHGs that generate so much climate change because of the greenhouse effect – high above Earth, the atmosphere traps the gases escaping from Earth, forming a layer that behaves like the top of a worldwide greenhouse, trapping heat emanating from below.
(“Greenhouse Effect” from climate.nasa.gov)

I see that Germanwatch, like I like to say, is “slipping on the job”!

The more the world applies chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the more GHGs are generated and the more the world suffers from the floods & droughts & bad weather that climate change brings. CA is good – and bad!

Thus, the Life & Death Question is: How can CA be avoided to avoid climate change? Asking as a friend!

Asking “Which Countries Are Most Threatened By And Vulnerable To Climate Change?” (Iberdrola, iberdrola.com), Iberdrola answers its own question: 10 countries listed – #1: Japan, #2: Philippines, #3: Germany, #4: Madagascar, #5: India, #6: Sri Lanka, #7: Kenya, #8: Ruanda, #9: Canada, and #10: Fuji

My beloved country the Philippines is #2, the 2^nd country most endangered by climate change!

I have been writing about climate change since at least 05 June 2013 (see “Climate Change Scientist, Leader & Evangelist” (Frank A Hilario, blogspot.com). The person I was writing about was UPLB Chancellor Rex Victor Cruz, one of the members of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. I was hoping he would steer UPLB towards what would later be known as “Regenerative Agriculture” – he did not. I am hoping I will, to not fail the Filipinos!@517

 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Is Good At Social Media, Not Social Mediation! She Must Be Thinking: “The Earth’s Mine!”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is a New York Representative and a member of the Democratic Party. At 29, AOC is the youngest woman to serve the US Congress. “She has been noted for her substantial social media presence relative to her fellow members of Congress” – Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org).

AOC’s “substantial social media presence” is probably the main reason why her group came up with the “To The End,” a documentary featuring AOC and other Climate Change activists. Sadly, Rob Crilly says, “Where Was Her Squad? AOC Climate Change Documentary FLOPS – And Brings In Just $80 Per Theater During Its Opening Weekend”! (13 Dec 2022, Daily Mail, dailymail.co.uk). AOC and her activists were “pushing the Green New Deal” (GND) in the film, which opened last Friday, 09 December (USA). Total take? Total of $9,667 for 125 theaters.” Exactly $77.34 /theater. That’s not miserable – that’s pathetic!

About the film, Monica Castillo says (09 Dec 2022, “To The End,” rogerebert.com):

The film’s focus is on climate change, narrowing in on the experiences of newly minted Representative Ocasio-Cortez, who champions immediate policy action to save the planet, the spirited activist Varshini Prakash, Co-founder and Executive Director of Sunrise Movement… Executive Director of Justice Democrats Alexandra Rojas, and the behind-the-scenes mastermind Rhiana Gunn-Wright, Director of Climate Policy at the Roosevelt Institute.

Thus, the movie documents the experiences of AOC, Ms Prakash, Ms Rojas, and Ms Gunn-Wright. Here is the problem:

In essence, [film Director Rachel Lears] has recreated her four-story structure but because [each is working on a different element for] creating change, there are no parallel tracks for the film to follow. The result feels a little shaggier, more like ambling towards a common goal than leading to a clean and neat conclusion… [In the end],  each subject [activist] is still fighting for change, and the end feels more like an ellipsis than a declarative period.

My declarative: It is clear that with this film, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did not make herself clear about Climate Change!

Herself, film Director Lears failed clearing up what exactly is Climate Change and how it affects everyone. Did those ladies fear that if the movie did that, they would offend Big Business – who would then destroy their respective careers? The title itself, “To The End”, is unclear, unconvincing, unexciting – unending!
(“Failure” is from vamboa.org)

But failure is a good excuse for trying again. If I were the Director of “To The End,” that would only be the beginning! I might title the next film, “To The New Beginning” – and document how Regenerative Agriculture (RA), as mightily represented by Organic Agriculture (OA), is helping solve Farmer Poverty and resolve Climate Change.

Of AOC, Wikipedia says (en.wikipedia.org): “[AOC’s GND] proposals call for public policy to address Climate Change.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – Call for public policy.
Frank A Hilario – Call for private projects.
Action speaks louder than words!

Personally, I continue to blog for RA/OA in my country the Philippines. EarthMinds: We Earth people have to do what we can privately for the public good!@517

 

Wanted: Department Of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources – To Save Our Seas, Our Mangroves & Our Fishermen!

On Facebook, our friend TCM sent me a downloadable copy of Senate Bill (SB) 614 authored by Sen Alan Peter "Compañero" S Cayetano: “An Act Creating A Department Of Fisheries And Aquatic Resources.” DFAR.

I note that Sen Cayetano likes the title “Compañero” (companion) – as I see it, DFAR would be the “significant other” of the Department of Agriculture (DA) – I say, “Yes, Sir!” Because:

Why should “Aquaculture” and “Fisheries” be under the DA? The lakes and seas are qualitatively different media for say, catching & growing fish, from farms for growing crops. The waters have their own natural laws separate from the fields.

As it is, the DA has too many agencies under its wings (Wikipedia, “Department of Agriculture (Philippines),” en.wikipedia.org):

DA’s 8 bureaus:

Agricultural Training Institute (ATI)
Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering (BAFE)
Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR)
Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS)
Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI)
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)
Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI)
Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM).

DA’s 18 Attached agencies:

Agricultural Credit and Policy Council (ACPC)
Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA)
National Dairy Authority (NDA)
National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI)
National Food Authority (NFA)
National Irrigation Administration (NIA)
National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS)
National Tobacco Administration (NTA)
Philippine Carabao Center (PCC)
Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech)[11]
Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA)
Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fishery (PCAF)
Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC)
Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA)
Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA)
Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice)
Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC)
Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA)

Naturally, the DFAR would then absorb BFAR, NFRDI, and PFDA, as well as take over the administration of SEAFDEC (see above).

The “Explanatory Note” for the Cayetano bill says:

The Philippines, being an archipelago with very rich marine resources, can be a marine powerhouse. Thus, it is logical that a Department that is focused and accountable for the development, management, and conservation of our country's aquatic resources and fishing industries, be established.

Fish and aquatic resources are some of the biggest blessings of God to the [Filipino] people… Our dependence on fish can be attributed to the archipelagic nature of the Philippines with its approximately 7,600 islands… [BFAR] notes that the Philippines' coastline extends to 36,289 kilometers, while total territorial water area (including the exclusive economic zone) is at 2,200,000 square kilometers, teeming with rich marine resources.

Based on the latest [BFAR] statistics, the number of registered fisherfolk engaged in fishery activities totaled to 2,078,913 in 2020. The fishing industry ranks as the 3^rd highest contributor in the agriculture sector with 12.27% gross value added contribution in 2020.

Above all that data, the science of Fisheries is qualitatively and quantitatively different from that of Agriculture.

Our friend TCM is saying the budget should be about P13 Billion. Why not?

Importantly, I would recommend that an agency be included for Extension – information and training, all-digital – unlike what the ATI is doing, all training!@517

 

The University Of The Philippines Will Continue To Mind The University But Not Mind The Philippines – Mind You!

I am sorry my favorite candidate for UP President Fernando C Sanchez Jr lost the selection by the UP Board of Regents (UP BOR) on 10 Dec 2022 – and I am sorry not only for myself but also for the entire UP System composed of 8 component universities, and for my whole country, the Philippines.

I was not in that BOR meeting, but I say the UP BOR did not consider the creative plea for “Artistic Freedom” instead of the confining “Academic Freedom” as platform for choosing the next or 22^nd UP President. Now then, it is not surprising that the BOR chose a lawyer: Angelo A Jimenez. “Academic Freedom, I will defend you; here I come!”
(Top image from finduniversity.ph, “UP Los Baños” from vigattintourism.com)

Janvic Mateosays, “Huge Tasks Ahead For Next UP President,” (11 Dec 2022, PhilStar, philstar.com):

Asked about his priorities, the labor lawyer and former Overseas Workers Welfare Administration acting deputy administrator cited his vision paper, in which he underscored UP’s mandate on research, teaching and extension.

“Those are the three main things,” he said. Jimenez also reiterated his commitment to defend academic freedom and the independence of the university.

I'm glad Mr Jimenez says, “UP’s mandate on research, teaching and extension” are “the three main things.” A UP Los Baños alumnus with a 22-year experience in indefatigable blogging with googling, I am up-to-date in modern Agriculture.

I say: “The #1 problem in the world and in the Philippines today is “Climate Change” – and “Chemical Agriculture” (CA) is directly connected to it, contributing as much as 37% of total greenhouse gases (GHGs) (Frontiers, frontiersin.org).

Additionally, CA makes life miserable for farmers because farming costs are high and farming returns are low. That is to say, Climate Change and Farmer Poverty have the same cause: Chemical Agriculture.

That is why I wanted ex-UPLB Chancellor Fernando C Sanchez Jr to be chosen by the BOR as the next UP President – Mr Sanchez is an Agriculturist, horticulturist, arborist, and a planner (uplb.edu.ph). Therefore, Mr Sanchez had his management foot already in the door. Unfortunately, the UP BOR was not looking for a deviser, only a disciplinarian!

And so, as I have been saying at least since 5 months ago (31 July 2022, “Fertilizer Management” Is Correct Critical Thinking, But The World Bank Should Be Thinking Wholes And Not Simply Holes!” Gardens Guardians, blogspot.com) –

Regenerative Agriculture (RA) is the proper response to Climate Change. Since the fertilizers in RA are organic in origin, they do not generate GHGs and thereby help resolve Climate Change!

RA has very much lower costs in production, while it generates very much higher returns. That should solve “Farmer Poverty”!

Therefore: In organic agriculture, we shoot 2 birds with 1 stone: we find the solution to “Farmer Poverty” and resolution of “Climate Change”!

The only sane explanation I can think of why the BOR chose Mr Jimenez as the next UP President – for UP, the regents were thoughtfully making Sense, but not thinking Science!@517

“Academic Freedom” Is The Monster You Love. “Artistic Freedom” Is The Monster I Love!

Did your UP presidential candidate win in the selection by the Board of Regents (BOR)? Mine did not win, but I look at each of the 8 component universities of the UP System as the loser! Which means that, thereby, all of us are losers. I'm sorry to say that the BOR’s choice means that there will be no Climate Change in UP administration. The monster of “Academic freedom” remains; the monster of “Artistic freedom” will have to wait!

(“Faces” from brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com, “Disney Monsters” from polygon.com)

08-09 Dec 2022, I wrote & blogged, plugging for whom I considered the best UP President we would ever have, considering the Twin Call of the Times: “Farmer Poverty” and “Climate Change.” Harsh realities call for minds that are inventive, not mouths that are invective!

Ex-UP Los Baños Chancellor Fernando C Sanchez Jr – of the 6 candidates, only he has the heart of the artist – creative, not merely reactive. In other words:

“Academic Freedom” vs “Artistic Freedom“ – “A strong man stands up for himself” vs “A stronger man stands up for others” (Sam Elliott).

10:42 AM Friday, selection day: God, I prayed! Prayer not granted, but I will continue blogging & plugging for my beloved Philippines to be brave to confront the huge twin problems of “Farmer Poverty” and “Climate Change.”

Yes, I have been searching, and it is in Agriculture that I have found the common solution. Thus, on 01 Feb 2017, I wrote about “Farmer Poverty, Why Can’t We Eliminate it?” (Danggay Foundation, blogspot.com). Here I said that the Philippines must push and succeed in agro-industrialization. “The poor farmers must rise from poverty and be able to stay there – that is the Foundation's minimum development goal…”

We all should be learners. In 2017, I did not realize that the pursuit of “agro-industrialization” is the pursuit of Chemical Agriculture (CA) that gives rise to greenhouse gases (GHGs) that give rise to Climate Change!

Am I the only communicator – blogger, columnist, journalist, writer – campaigning for the solution of Farmer Poverty and resolution of Climate Change? I don’t mind. From Asingan, Pangasinan, an Ilocano, I have always been an original aboriginal.

The UP Board of Regents lost, not selecting Mr Sanchez!

I look at myself as a winner, having written & blogged all these pertinent essays favoring Mr Sanchez:

9:51 AM, Thursday, 08 Dec 2022
“’The Prince & The Pauper” – My Maria Makiling As Metaphor For Vanishing Species In UP” (blogspot.com);

3:09 PM, Thursday, 08 Dec 2022
““The Thinking Heads” – Are They Thinking Of Climate Change? Nah! Greta Thunberg Is”
(blogspot.com)

7:39 AM, Friday, 09 Dec 2022
“UP President Selection – No Climate Change From Popularity To Call Of The Times? – Calling The Attention Of The UP Board Of Regents!”
(blogspot.com)

9:54 AM, Friday, 09 Dec 2022
“A Nation-Building UP President Please! Leading PH In Solving Twin Problems Of Farmer Poverty & Climate Change!”
(blogspot.com)

Along the entire UP System, the Unfriendly Monster of Academic Freedom remains – the Friendly Monster of Artistic Freedom is nowhere to be seen! Sad.@517

 

A Nation-Building UP President Please! Leading PH In Solving Twin Problems Of Farmer Poverty & Climate Change!

 

Is the search for the new UP President all in the “pursuit of academic excellence”? Wrong pursuit! this UPLB alumnus says. Correct pursuit: National Relevance. And what is relevant today is “Climate Change” – the UP President must lead the UP System universities in helping address the climate crisis in their own turfs!

(“Nation Building” from marketbusinessnews.com, “Inspirational” from youtube.com)

From the UP Diliman University Student Council (Twitter, twitter.com), I saw this:

LOOK: With our call to uphold genuine representation in the selection for the next UP President, #NoMoreChancesSanchez is trending alongside our campaign for Fidel Nemenzo as #OurSuperPrexy.

“No More Chances Sanchez” – ah, if today I were a member of the UP Board of Regents, my vote would go to ex-UPLB Chancellor Fernando c Sanchez Jr as the next UP President!

UP people, you are still thinking and pushing for academic excellence while the country is being hammered by the climate crisis. And it is in Agriculture that UP can help address this national crisis. And so who else to select as the next UP President but Sanchez?

With Sanchez, our chances are bright when it comes to defeating the twin evils of Farmer Poverty and Climate Change! The UP System cannot remain blind to those two, entangled problems!

Why do I say “entangled” when “Poverty” is Economic while “Climate” is Atmospheric? Because I know that the 2 major problems have the same solution: Intelligent Agriculture (iA).

There is Farmer Poverty because the total cost of farming is high because of the high cost of chemical fertilizers, and therefore the returns are low. So, what else is new?!

Repeat: Filipino farmers are their own enemies because of Chemical Agriculture (CA), because chemical fertilizers are expensive, they are at the expense of the income of farmers!

IA: Farmers themselves aggravate Climate Change because farming contributes 21-37% of greenhouse gases (frontiersin.org). Note: My source of data is American, not Filipino. 21-37% – that is significant, this non-statistical expert is saying.

So what we should do is discontinue the unintelligent Chemical Agriculture and resort to the intelligent Organic Agriculture. So, who among the candidates for 2022 UP President understands that but only one: ex-UPLB Chancellor Fernando C Sanchez Jr! With Sanchez, we have another iA – Intelligent Administrator.

IA: The UP System cannot ignore the Climate Crisis that bears on all of us, farmers and students and citizens alike – and the UP System should be the intellectual leader in all this!

“All in pursuit of academic excellence” – UP Virata School of Business (vsb.upd.edu.ph). why choose Excellence, not Relevance?

Here is from Editor In Chief Francis Allan L Angelo (08 Dec 2022, “A Critical Race,” Daily Guardian, dailyguardian.com.ph):

The next UP president will not just become president of an organization or fraternity, but of the state university which has become the fulcrum of independent and conscious thinking and an agent of tangible nation-building efforts.

Double iA: The next UP President should help build this nation against Farmer Poverty and Climate Change!@517

 

UP President Selection – No Climate Change From Popularity To Call Of The Times? – Calling The Attention Of The UP Board Of Regents!

Is the search for the new UP President all in the “pursuit of academic excellence”? Wrong pursuit! this UPLB alumnus says. Correct pursuit: National Relevance. And what is relevant today is “Climate Change” – the UP President must lead the UP System universities in helping address the climate crisis in their own turfs!

(“Nation Building” from marketbusinessnews.com, “Inspirational” from youtube.com)

From the UP Diliman University Student Council (Twitter, twitter.com), I saw this:

LOOK: With our call to uphold genuine representation in the selection for the next UP President, #NoMoreChancesSanchez is trending alongside our campaign for Fidel Nemenzo as #OurSuperPrexy.

“No More Chances Sanchez” – ah, if today I were a member of the UP Board of Regents, my vote would go to ex-UPLB Chancellor Fernando c Sanchez Jr as the next UP President!

UP people, you are still thinking and pushing for academic excellence while the country is being hammered by the climate crisis. And it is in Agriculture that UP can help address this national crisis. And so who else to select as the next UP President but Sanchez?

With Sanchez, our chances are bright when it comes to defeating the twin evils of Farmer Poverty and Climate Change! The UP System cannot remain blind to those two, entangled problems!

Why do I say “entangled” when “Poverty” is Economic while “Climate” is Atmospheric? Because I know that the 2 major problems have the same solution: Intelligent Agriculture (iA).

There is Farmer Poverty because the total cost of farming is high because of the high cost of chemical fertilizers, and therefore the returns are low. So, what else is new?!

Repeat: Filipino farmers are their own enemies because of Chemical Agriculture (CA), because chemical fertilizers are expensive, they are at the expense of the income of farmers!

IA: Farmers themselves aggravate Climate Change because farming contributes 21-37% of greenhouse gases (frontiersin.org). Note: My source of data is American, not Filipino. 21-37% – that is significant, this non-statistical expert is saying.

So what we should do is discontinue the unintelligent Chemical Agriculture and resort to the intelligent Organic Agriculture. So, who among the candidates for 2022 UP President understands that but only one: ex-UPLB Chancellor Fernando C Sanchez Jr! With Sanchez, we have another iA – Intelligent Administrator.

IA: The UP System cannot ignore the Climate Crisis that bears on all of us, farmers and students and citizens alike – and the UP System should be the intellectual leader in all this!

“All in pursuit of academic excellence” – UP Virata School of Business (vsb.upd.edu.ph). why choose Excellence, not Relevance?

Here is from Editor In Chief Francis Allan L Angelo (08 Dec 2022, “A Critical Race,” Daily Guardian, dailyguardian.com.ph):

The next UP president will not just become president of an organization or fraternity, but of the state university which has become the fulcrum of independent and conscious thinking and an agent of tangible nation-building efforts.

Double iA: The next UP President should help build this nation against Farmer Poverty and Climate Change!@517

 

“The Thinking Heads” – Are They Thinking Of Climate Change? Nah! Greta Thunberg Is

A Filipino, I know for a fact that within the University of the Philippines (UP) System composed of 8 component universities – UP Baguio, UP Cebu, UP Diliman, UP Los Baños, UP Manila, UP Visayas, UP Mindanao, and UP Open University – as a UPLB alumnus, I see, “It is as if they have turned their backs on the realities of the present. None of their heads are talking Climate Change! They’re living on a different planet. I see, all their thinking is academic!”

(“Under Her Eye” from medium.com, “Oblation” from 123rf.com)

I'm talking about Climate Change in general, but as a graduate of UP Los Baños, I will focus on Agriculture. More so because globally, agriculture is a big contributor to the climate crisis, contributing 21-37% of annual greenhouse gas emissions (Frontiers, frontiersin.org).

Now then, I will quote from Greta Thunberg, the Wonderkid of Climate Change – she is autistic, but people celebrate her because she is cerebral. She says in an old but not dated pronouncement (01 Nov 2018, “Greta Thunberg: The Rebellion Has Begun,” We Don’t Have Time, medium.com):

I think in many ways that we autistic are the normal ones and the rest of the people are pretty strange. They keep saying that climate change is an existential threat and the most important issue of all. And yet they just carry on like before. If the emissions have to stop, then we must stop the emissions. To me, that is black or white. There are no grey areas when it comes to survival. Either we go on as a civilization or we don’t. We have to change.

Yes Mam!

Ms Greta is saying it seems the autistics are the ones normal, and the rest of us are abnormal.

We normal people are saying Climate Change is “an existential threat and the most important issue of all” – and yet we behave as if we’ve all been here before and we survived!

“If the emissions have to stop then we must stop the emissions.” But the member heads of United Nations have been talking about stopping in the last 30 years from the adoption of the “UN Framework Convention on Climate Change” since 1992. Nothing doing!

Why?

Ms Greta says: “People keep doing what they do because the vast majority [don’t] have a clue about the consequences of our everyday life. And they don’t know the rapid changes required.”

Ms Greta, I know the rapid changes required that are within our reach in my country the Philippines, and they all belong to Agriculture, the #1 industry in these islands. That is why I have been writing about Organic Agriculture since at least 2011 (see my 20 July 2011 essay, “Crop Science Philippines. How Organic-Minded Are We?” A Magazine Called Love, blogspot.com). Simple: Organic agriculture does not produce greenhouse gases!

And that is why, as an alumnus of UP, I want the next President could be a Climate Activist grounded in agriculture – thus, I see ex-UPLB Chancellor Fernando C Sanchez as the best UP President! @517  

“The Prince & The Pauper” – My Maria Makiling As Metaphor For Vanishing Species In UP

Today, I am going to relate the Prince with the President – the one being British with the other being Filipino. And the Pauper with the UP President!

“The Prince & The Pauper” –
In the above image, my photograph of my desktop 18 May 2018, external monitor showing Prince Henry of Walesbeing married to Commoner Meghan Markle at the St George’s Chapel in England.

Caroline Davissays (“Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Marry As Millions Watch,” (The Guardian, theguardian.com), it was “a wedding ceremony that dusted down royal tradition and injected gospel energy.”

Here I am dusting down “UP tradition” and injecting “Climate Change” gospel energy! UP is all “academic freedom” and nothing about “creative freedom.” Zero UP loud voices about the Climate Crisis that is enveloping the world! UP has not been paying attention to Climate Change and what humans can do about it!

The bride’s African-American roots were referred to throughout a service that put diversity at its heart. There was gospel music. There was the energy of the Chicago-born preacher, the Most Rev Bishop Michael Curry, who delivered his memorable address on the power of love with fist-pumping vitality, invoking Martin Luther King Jr and the resilience of faith during slavery.

In UP, there is always unity in academic freedom, never diversity. The gospel music is always “Oblation.” The energy of preachers with fist-pumping vitality always invokes freedom of opposition.

“Maria Makiling” & The Vanishing Species

The image above is among 19 photographs I took of that royal wedding. At the right, right half shown, is a “Maria Makiling” trophy – the one I received from the UP Los Baños Alumni Association as the “Outstanding Alumnus For Creative Writing 2011.” In the 100+ years of all of UP, I am the first and the only recipient of that honor.

With Prince Henry, I am the pauper. With that Maria Makiling trophy, I feel like a prince!

At the Science City of Los Baños, Laguna, Maria Makiling is the symbol of conservation of nature, of agriculture & forest species. Now then, because of the global challenge of Climate Change, I say my half-image of Maria Makiling is a symbol of vanishing species – and the University of the Philippines (UP) System is not talking about it, not even on Facebook!

Amidst a would-be global crisis, all UP people want to do is criticize, counter, contradict –Critical Thinking. Where is creative thinking? This UP alumnus can’t find any!

This time, the vanishing species is that of UP Presidents who care for UP professors and students who are taught creative thinking!

Now then, as gospeler, I do say, “All roads must lead to home. Home is where the heart is.” My heart is with UP with a heart!

Climate Change is a global crisis that confronts all today, nobody excempted. With the above image, I want to say that the UP Board of Regents should select a thinking head with a feeling heart as the next UP President – ex-UPLB Chancellor Fernando C Sanchez Jr!@517

 

 

“Choosing The Next UP President – Consider That UP Has Become A Weapon Of Mass Distinction But Not A Weapon Of Mass Education In The Midst Of The Threat Of Mass Extinction!

Above, UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierres smiles to hide his heartache thinking of his pandemic message about the fate of us science-minded but selfish earthlings. Listen!

Mr Gutierres is in Montreal, Canada, attending the opening ceremonies of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15). ANN says he says (Author Not Named, 07 Dec 2022, “‘Humanity Has Become A Weapon Of Mass Extinction,’ Warns UN Chief,” Inquirer.net, newsinfo.inquirer.net):

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday slammed multinational corporations for turning the world’s ecosystems into “playthings of profit” and warned failure to correct course would lead to catastrophic results.

“With our bottomless appetite for unchecked and unequal economic growth, humanity has become a weapon of mass extinction,” he said, in a speech ahead of biodiversity talks in Montreal.

In an earlier report, Mr Gutierres had said, “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.” This was on the occasion of the opening of the COP27 UN climate summit in Egypt last month (Fiona Harvey & Damian Carrington, 07 Nov 2022, “World Is On ‘Highway To Climate Hell’, UN Chief Warns At Cop27 Summit,” The Guardian, theguardian.com).

What the world needs now are leaders with heads full of science and hearts full of love for all humanity.

In the midst of Climate Change, we need political leaders who can think both critically and creatively. At the University of the Philippines System (UP), we need academic leaders who are scientists and at the same time artists.

Thus, my unsolicited advice is for the UP Board of Regents to pick on Friday, 09 Dec 2022, the President who is both critical and creative – I point to ex-UP Los Baños Chancellor Fernando C Sanchez Jr.

Previously, I wrote 5 essays on Mr Sanchez when he was UPLB Chancellor – check out my blog Gardens Guardians; to go there, press Ctrl+Click on the following line/link: https://gardensguardians.blogspot.com.

This is my 3rd essay thinking of UP President Sanchez since October:
(1) “What UP Needs Most Is A Vision Of Loveliness – Time To Get Rid Of That Vision Of Barren Manliness!” (24 Oct 2022, Gardens Guardians, gardensguardians.blogspot.com), and
(2) “’The Thinking Head.’ Choosing The Next UP President – From Critical To Creative, UP Must Go, Because UP Diliman & The Oblation Are Too Critical!” (02 Dec 2022, Gardens Guardians, gardensguardians.blogspot.com).

The Twin Global/National Problems of Farmer Poverty and Climate Change point to the next UP President coming from UP Los Baños! Chemical Agriculture (CA) is what keeps the farmers poor; they must now practice Organic Agriculture (OA) to solve Farmer Poverty, simultaneously resolve Climate Change!

Solving Farmer Poverty: OA costs are low and returns are high.

Resolving Climate Change: Where CA generates much greenhouse gases (GHGs) that generate Climate Change, OA generates zero GHGs.

Thinking globally, acting locally. UP needs a President whose head thinks of global problems with scientific solutions and whose heart feels for applications adoptable by communities as taught by UP experts!@517

 

Worriers & Warriors In Modern Philippine History – BBM Wants To Invest In Maharlika And I Want Him To Invest In MaharLikas

Today, let us talk about warriors in Philippine history; now, the Maharlika, with House Bill 6398, “Maharlika Investments Fund.” But most people are talking about it as a Worrier Fund, not a Warrior Fund.

Today, Tuesday, 05 Dec 2022, Ramon Yedra shares on Facebook the YugaTech article by Arius Lauren Raposas (YugaTech, yugatech.com). Mr Raposas writes:

Filed last November 28 by six representatives to help [in] “achieving single-digit poverty levels and upper middle-income status for Filipinos,” the proposal has hurdled the House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries as of December 1.

I know little about any investment funds, and I don’t want to know more – so I will rely on what one of my favorite columnists has written in exactly 4 words: “Drop The Maharlika Fund”! (interjection supplied)

That’s the title of Cielito F Habito’s column, Tuesday, 06 Dec 2022 (“No Free Lunch,” Philippines Daily Inquirer, opinion.inquirer.net). Here’s one worried paragraph from it:

Distrust alone cannot be enough basis to oppose an idea that is neither new nor unique. [And] beyond distrust, there are substantive reasons to oppose the measure, well rounded up in a statement released by several business and economic policy advocacy groups. The proposed fund, it notes, violates principles of fiscal prudence, additionality, social pension fund solvency, central bank independence, and good governance.

I now join the Worriers: No to the “Maharlika Investments Fund!”

I now shout a Warriors cry: Yes to the “MaharLikas!” (“PreciousNature”)

I am now thinking of what I call the “MaharLikas Fund for Agriculture & the Environment (MaharLikas)” – only P57 Billion to solve “Farmer Poverty” and “Climate Change.”

Yes, to solve both national and natural problems simultaneously: Farmer Poverty and Climate Change – because they have a common cause.

And what is that common cause? Chemical Agriculture (CA). CA makes farming today for millions of farmers a losing proposition – the costs are high and the returns are low. And it is CA that makes Mother Nature (Kalikasan) generate much greenhouse gases (GHGs) that exacerbate Climate Change.

Aside from helping resolve Climate Change? OA has these advantages: (a) cheaper inputs, (b) healthier crops, (d) healthier foods produced – flowers, fruits, leaves & stems of crops, (e) healthier bodies of consumers, and (f) healthier incomes of farmers.

Hereby, I propose that President BBM sponsor a P57 Billion MaharLikas fund for:

(1)   Farmer Subsidy –
P45 Billion: For subsidizing Organic Agriculture (OA) needs of farmers. Who will reject free fertilizers?

(2)   Rotavator Reinvention –
P10 Billion: For someone (I, me, myself) to re-invent the off-the-shelf rotavator into an automatic maker & spreader of “organic mulch” in 1 operation. Plus manufacture thousands of MaharLikas rotavator for free distribution to farmers.

(3)   Knowledge Bank (KB) –
P2 Billion: Create an OA “MaharLikas Knowledge Bank” user-friendly to highschoolers – who can explain things to adults. Buy & distribute laptops to farmer cooperatives. First, the MaharLikas KB will be in English; next, Tagalog, Ilocano etc.

The Maharlika Investments Fund is a Worrier;
the MaharLikas Investment Fund is a Warrior –
Choose wisely!@517

 

Organic Farming? “For Worse!” – Genetic Literacy Project, American Group. “For Better!” – I, Me, Myself!

Ben Peczon, an acquaintance, avid advocate for agriculture modernization of the Philippines, shares on Facebook 01 Dec 2022 the above image with the heading: “Spanish biologist: ‘No evidence that organic diet better for health or organic farming better for the environment.’”

Immediately I tell myself: “Citations correct. Conclusion wrong!”

Mr Peczon is referring to the article by Jose Miguel Mulet & Sea Ferragut  (title above, 29 Nov 2022, Genetic Literacy Project, geneticliteracyproject.org). I now quote the pertinent dis/agreeable text:

Do foods with an organic seal have benefits?

[José Miguel Mulet:] The only thing they guarantee is that they have been grown according to a regulation that tells you what you can put and what you can’t. The problem is that production is very low. Europe wants to promote it but it only talks about increasing surface area but you don’t buy in square meters, but in kilos. They only talk about the surface because it is clear that production is going to plummet. Are they healthier? The only variable you control is the growing method, not what you grow. Getting drunk on organic wine is just as bad for your health as on non-organic wine. There is no evidence that a diet based on organic products is better…

Isn’t it better for the environment?

[Mulet:] No. If productivity falls, you need more land to get the same food, and the environmental impact and the water footprint skyrocket. Organic regulation is not based on objective parameters, such as the carbon or water footprint, but on a philosophical principle without a scientific basis that what is natural is better. There are problems. For example, in organic viticulture copper is used as a fungicide and it is a terrible contaminant. Therefore, the ecological seal does not guarantee less environmental impact. It will depend on the crop.

My reactions as organic believer:

First: About farm foods sold with a “USDA Organic” seal: Thus, the USDA allows the use of copper as a fungicide in organic viticulture – and “it is a terrible contaminant.” I say, “The USDA is terrible!”

Second: About organic farm outputs: “The problem is that production is very low.” Mr Mulet is talking about organic farming that uses only organic fertilizers as sold commercially or prepared by the farmers themselves.

Third: They are limiting “organic” to the certified “organic farms” and not considering other forms of or practices related to organic agriculture.

What they are talking about is very limited organic farming!

For instance, on the subject of organic fertilizers, I have a personal method of not manually but mechanically preparing what I call “organic mulch” that is created by the rotavator but with my strict instructions to be followed by the operator.

If you don’t believe me, I challenge anyone to financially sponsor a techno demo for me to show, with a million eyes looking physically and virtually, an off-the-shelf rotavator cultivating under my direction – and come harvest time, to witness how many tons the harvest will be. Any brave souls taking my dare?@517

 

Rich Rice Rewards & Awards Via Instant Laptop Lessons

Gene Hettel, retired IRRI Science Senior Editor and Content Specialist, shares today, Sunday, 04 Dec 2022, his 04 Dec 2014 Facebook posting on the Binhi Awardscreated by the Philippine Agricultural Journalists(PAJ) in the late 1970s, and for the past years, carried out with the financial sponsorship of the San Miguel Corporation (SMC), to reward journalists for exemplary dispatches in agriculture.

Mr Hettel says:

PAJ has been conducting the Binhi Awards since 1978… to recognize the continuing efforts of Philippine print and broadcast journalists for their reportage on the major developments and issues in the country’s agriculture, fisheries, environment, food and agribusiness sectors.

As agriculturist & the 1970s originator of the Binhi Awards, I am looking at these 2 as major developments: Farmer Poverty and Climate Change. And they are interrelated and have the same cause: Chemical Agriculture (CA). John Lynch et al say CA contributes 21-37% of annual greenhouse gases (GHGs) (03 Feb 2021, Frontiers, “Agriculture's Contribution To Climate Change And Role In Mitigation Is Distinct From Predominantly Fossil CO²-Emitting Sectors,” Frontiers, frontiersin.org).

21-37% GHGs from agriculture is major!

Now then, I beg the Binhi Awards people to encourage Philippine journalists to be relevant to the needs of the times by rewarding Climate Change journalism with higher honors – and higher cash prizes.

That would mean journalism concentrating on Organic Agriculture that contributes zero to Climate Change.

As it is: Aggie journalism is hardly journaling modern farming systems and technologies.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) should now produce the knowledge library for the “Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture” (OpAPA), which was proposed by former Secretary of Agriculture William Dar in 2003 yet when he was still Director General of ICRISAT, based in India, sister institute of IRRI.

The OpAPA Knowledge Bank should be user-friendly – like, on the laptop the journalist simply types “hybrid rice” (with/without the double quotes), and press Enter, the OpAPA screen will show images and/or icon-links to varieties of hybrid rice (HR) available, as well as icon-links to all of these: advantages of HR over inbred rice (IR), costs & returns comparisons, technology options & advantages…

Instant data & information! I call the knowledge bank “Rice Rich Rewards” (“The 3 Rs”) – name enhancing the fact that farmers (and other Filipinos) cannot live on rice alone! Farmers have to grow other crops such as vegetables, even poultry and/or livestock.
(Laptop image from knowledge-hub.com)

“The 3 Rs” being user-friendly, any journalist or farmer can tap one’s laptop anytime anywhere for science & technology in rice-based farming systems. Initially in English, “The 3 Rs” will be understandable by high schoolers who can then interpret for their parents.

Why “The 3 Rs?” We need to spread more in-depth knowledge in agriculture. We cannot blame our new & young President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr who keeps mentioning his election promise of “P20/kg rice.” I don’t want him to rise & fall on rice!

Now, we must convince the DA and SMC to fully finance “The 3 Rs” to bring information & insights to the fingertips of Filipinos anywhere anytime.@517

 

For Productivity & Efficiency – Farm Fragmentation Or Farm Consolidation? Directly Opposite Views Of William Dar And Conrado Estrella III

Land ownership of tenants, no matter how many and how long ago, has not released farmers from poverty – why does the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) continue to pursue it? The DAR allotment of P6.1 billion for 2023 for land titles could be used for increased farm productivity & higher farmer income! The DAR thinks “Lack of Land Ownership“ is The Primordial Problem and not “Farmer Poverty!”

I am reading Jonathan l Mayuga’s news report, “DAR Allots P6.1B Of 2023 Budget For Land Titling Project” (21 Nov 2022, BusinessMirror, businessmirror.com.ph). Mr Mayuga says:

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) will spend around P6.1 billion for the implementation of a project that seeks [for] the subdivision of collective certificates of land ownership [awards] (CCLOAs) and eventually issue individual land titles to the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).

That is to say, the DAR institutionally believes that collective land ownership is anathema to production & profit in farming. The DAR is saying that individual farmers are more productive & profitable than collective farmers.

I believe the opposite is true: Consolidation, not fragmentation, is the answer!
(Lower image from facebook.com)

I first learned about land consolidation from my favorite Secretary of Agriculture William Dar, 2019- 2022. ANN says, “Farm Consolidation, Clustering Paves Way To Modernizing, Industrializing PHL Agri” (Author Not Named, 27 July 2020, Department of Agriculture, da.gov.ph). Mr Dar says:

Farm consolidation and clustering can significantly increase the productivity and competitiveness of Filipino farmers and fishers, including agripreneurs, as they will achieve economies of scale.

… Clustered farms attain economies of scale and a subsequently higher level of efficiency throughout the value chain – from reduced production and operations expenses, cheaper farm inputs as they could buy wholesale, [higher] harvests and selling their produce directly to markets and institutional buyers, to realizing bigger revenues and incomes.

ANN says that in his 2^nd year as Secretary of Agriculture, Mr Dar pointed out, “Our farmers remain individualistic, unorganized and thus are not linked directly to markets” (Author Not Named, 08 Oct 2020, “‘Cooperativism, Clustering Are Saving-Links To Make Filipino Farmers Competitive’ – DA Chief,” Department of Agriculture, da.gov.ph).

Calixto V Chikiamcosays, “Land Consolidation Is The Answer” (02 Oct 2022, BusinessWorld, bworldonline.com), and quotes Mr Dar:

… The primary binding constraint in the development of Philippine agriculture is land fragmentation. The answer to our agricultural woes is farm consolidation and modernization. Nothing else. All other efforts will fail.

Yes Sir! “The answer… is farm consolidation and modernization.” These 2 major government policies cultivate & nourish each other so that farmers come to know better what they are doing. You can increase farming efficiency only by employing modern systems and machines such as for soil cultivation & enrichment, planting or transplanting, continuing crop culture, harvesting, drying, processing, storage, transporting and marketing – including cooperativism and banking.

Conrado Estrella  III, Secretary of Agrarian Reform, insists on the project (sic) “Support To Parcelization Of Lands For Individual Titling (SPLIT).” I say SPLIT is splitting farm operations efficiency & productivity!@517