Do PH Rice Farmers Continue To Profit From Technology? Middlemen Continue To Profit From Rice Farmers!

 

It’s harvest time for rice. Here comes Rosendo So, Chair of the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura, Sinag, with the news that the best wholesale offers of farmgate prices for rice range from P12.50 to P13.50/kilo, so the Sinag farmers stand to lose. For Sinag, the breakeven farmgate price for freshly harvested rice is P14.50/kilo; after drying, the acceptable price is P19/kilo.

To save the farmers from falling prices, Mr So “urged the Department of Agriculture to set aside P152 Billion to procure the expected 8 billion kilos of palay to be harvested this coming season at P19/kilo.”

The Secretary of Agriculture is William Dar, and I see that this calls for the Philippine version of “Science with a human face” that was his slogan at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, ICRISAT, based in India, when he was Director General of ICRISAT. Today’s rice problem calls for “Policy with a human face” – I am sure Mr Dar will try to move people & processes to raise those P152 Billion to save our farmers. (image[1] from UPLB RDE)

But that is only the Beginning of the Solution. According to Cynthia Villegas-De Guia, Planning Officer and Assistant Head of Program Development at the Bureau of Agricultural Research, “The Philippine agriculture sector has always been weighed down by low productivity and high production costs, because it has long lagged in adopting (new) technology.”

Old technology: Two related reasons why PH rice farmers have low rice yields is that they transplant too many seedlings per hill, usually 2 to 3 – which then compete against each other for nutrients. And then the distance between hills is too close: Too many seedlings per area means very few tillers are formed, and it is the tillers that produce the panicles that produce the grains that the farmers want!

Still another very good reason for the high cost of rice production is that farmers borrow from usurers for inputs – a welcome source of funds, as these friendly people don’t ask too many questions!

Can PH farmers save themselves?

They can, and can earn much more from their labors as a result.

We help the farmers organize multipurpose cooperatives and, with funding assistance from the public/private sector, each coop puts up a warehouse or granary that serves as a depository for farm produce during harvest time, no rush to sell. Then farmers can borrow money from the coop against their deposited harvest at coop-friendly rates, not usurious. This is called warrantage.

ICRISAT was practicing warrantage in Africa with the farmers there when Mr Dar was Director General of ICRISAT. Warrantage is farmer guarantee that he does not have to sell his harvest immediately to raise money for pressing family needs. His harvest will be sold when the price is right!

If we have enough coops with their warehouses and warrantage, farmers will not fall into hard times because palay prices will not fall. In fact, the prices of rice will rise – and with them, the farmers!@517

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[1]https://ovcre.uplb.edu.ph/press/features/item/501-seeing-from-space-the-future-of-philippine-agriculture

From Agriculture to Communication to Medicine to Painting to Zero Waste Management – Rethinking Learning When All The World’s In A Daze

 

A Civil Service Professional, I educator can see that Education Secretary Leonor Briones has already embraced this new world:

Education Online.

Unfortunately, our teachers have shied away from it. Even our journalists have kept distance from distance learning!

White-haired Miss Leonor is almost 80, born 16 October 1940. Almost thoroughly white-haired, I am myself almost 80, older by 30 days. She is Secretary of Education; I am a Civil Service Professional teacher myself –

Both educators, we are living proofs that
Nobody is too old to learn something new!

But the Method of Teaching must fit the Material being Taught. Above, I superimposed the image of a girl studying Literature[1] (from WikiHow) by handwriting her notes – this is Very Old School. This is going backward in education.

By the way, I teacher am a self-taught digital man – today, I research via digital, take notes digital, write digital, read digital, rewrite digital, finalize digital. No sweat, because I taught myself to be a blogger, an earnest one since January 2007 when now PH Secretary of Agriculture William Dar was still Director General of ICRISAT (he was DG 2000-2014), and he enlisted me as an international consulting writer, work from home.

Above, I featured as the main image Miss Leonor because she is the First Learner in the World of Digital Education in the Philippines.

From the article written by Bonz Magsambol (10 September 2020, “Briones Says Modular Learning 'Expensive,' Has 'Big Effect' On Environment[2],” Rappler.com), I can see that Miss Leonor’s thinking is holistic, meaning “Emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts[3]” (American Heritage Dictionary). She has been thinking of the whole world of Education, from a common table at home to a whole school building – and realized that one needs only a little space to learn, not “a whole environment conducive to learning,” which schoolrooms are supposed to be.

“Modular learning” is “expensive” and has “big effect” on the environment. She explains that modular learning requires paper for printing.

May implikasyon ang dependence sa modular learning dahil baka uubusin natin ang mga puno natin sa kaka-produce [ng learning modules]. 'Yung demand for paper [is high]... malaki ang effect sa environment.

(There are implications of our dependence on modular learning because we might exhaust our trees just to produce those learning modules. The demand for paper is high… this has a big effect on the environment.)

I did not know Miss Leonor is also worried about the natural environment – which we all should be.

Since I consider Agriculture as the Handmaiden of National Development – aka Economic Development – I am now thinking about learning any and all of Agriculture online.

I am thinking of my alma mater, UP Los Baños, as the initiator of the new Digital Movement. Eventually, this will filter down to the farmers in the field who can receive instructions via their own cellphones. Then we will have digital farmers.

Digital is the way to go!@517

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[1]https://www.wikihow.com/Utilize-Winter-Break-for-Studying
[2]https://rappler.com/nation/briones-modular-learning-expensive-effect-environment
[3]https://www.thefreedictionary.com/holistic

PH Legislators: How Can Agriculture Grow Up When The Budget Grows Down!?

 

Why is PH Agriculture in terms of food behind that of Vietnam, of Thailand, and of Indonesia, and only equal that of Malaysia? Secretary of Agriculture William Dar told the House Committee on Agriculture chaired by Wilfrido Mark Enverga that the obvious explanation is that each of those countries has a lion’s share of the national budget for agriculture: Vietnam at 6.3%, Thailand at 3.6%, and Indonesia at 3.3% (Jasper Y Arcalas, “House Panel Favors Budget Hike For DA[1],” BusinessMirror.com.ph). In contrast, PH and Malaysia are down there each with a measly 1.6%. (image of negative growth[2] from Incyte Strategies LLC)

So, don’t be surprised why PH Agriculture imports more while each of those countries exports more!

During that meeting of the House Committee on Appropriations on the proposed 2021 budget of the DA, Mr Dar said that “that some of the projects that they plan to implement next year to improve farm production would not push through as (the DA’s) proposed budget of P284 billion was not approved” (italics supplied).

Mr Dar then appealed to the Committee if it were possible that P42 billion out of the P66 billion stimulus fund for agriculture instead be added to the 2020 DA budget. He said, “With this, our budget will be over P100 billion next year, which is good enough to start stimulating our agriculture sector toward a growth pattern.”

The problem with the Philippines, Mr Dar said, is that agriculture has been contributing yearly 10% of the country’s gross domestic product, GDP, and yet its budget share in the past 10 years has been a measly yearly 3%.

PH legislators and/or GDP economists do not know how to reward the good so that it will perform even better!

Mr Dar said:

We wish to underscore the need to ensure parity between the contribution of the sector to the economy and resources it gets from the national coffers. This if we are to ensure that agriculture (is) the sleeping giant (so that it) can finally contribute its full potential to the Philippine economy.

Note that Mr Dar referred to PH Agriculture as “the sleeping giant.” We can fully appreciate that if we note that, as according to George Barcelon, President Emeritus of Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ernesto M Ordoñez, “Agriculture Budget And Economic Growth[3],” business.inquirer.net):

Our importation of food is almost 50 percent. So if you look at what sectors we should really focus on for long-term sustainability, it is really agriculture.

Mr Ordoñez went on to say:

Today, the Philippines has a 31% poverty rate, more than double that of Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, while Malaysia’s is less than 2%.

Local government and private sector empowerment in developing agriculture and reducing poverty must now focus on the provinces, municipalities, and barangays. The larger agriculture budget, when used with this new normal approach, will add significantly in achieving our “bayanihan as one” objective of a better life for our people.

Raise up the PH Agriculture budget!@517

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[1]http://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/09/10/house-panel-favors-budget-hike-for-da/?fbclid=IwAR3t9TEBSaywOXMKHNtm3IkHIr_iozp-8QD89d4ZAmAJIK3iWspSdZfuvYc
[2]http://www.incytestrategies.com/2015/01/16/what-the-heck-does-negative-earnings-growth-mean/
[3]https://business.inquirer.net/299114/agriculture-budget-and-economic-growth

Dream Come True – Native PH Chickens Laying 200 Eggs A Year!

Above are images of the native, free-range chickens that the Innovative Family Enterprise Development, IFED, Project has delivered to my hometown of Asingan in Eastern Pangasinan. The batch will be distributed to 30 family women entrepreneurs after training. The IFED Project is led by Jovita M Datuin, DVM, OIC Regional Technical Director for Research & Regulations of Region 1, Department of Agriculture, DA. This follows the Memorandum of Agreement signed between Asingan Mayor Carlos Lopez Jr, DA Region 1 officials, and farmer member-beneficiaries of the Nagkaisa Multipurpose Cooperative of the town, last February (ECV, “Asingan Coop Gets P.5M Worth Of Free-Range Chickens[1],” Sunday Punch).

According to ECV, Asingan is the very first recipient town and therefore the model of IFED in the 6^th District of Pangasinan. “Free-range chickens” means they are free to roam within the confines of the area where they are raised and feed only on vegetation such as grasses and other natural foods such as insects and worms. That is what makes them cost-effective to raise, says Miss Jovita. No antibiotics are given. With improved housing, feeding, and health management, she says we can expect each bird to lay 200 eggs a year, instead of only 60[2].

The above images are in the Facebook post of Miss Jovy, and here is the exchange of comments:

Frank A Hilario:Finally, simmangpet ti native idiay asingan! (Finally, the native has come home to Asingan!)

Jovita Datuin: Frank A Hilario, Sir Frank, this is the project I discussed at Asingan when I met you. I was inspired to meet the outstanding journalist. We have donated half a million pesos to start the innovative family enterprise development project for free-range chickens. Thank you for inspiring us.

“Thank you for inspiring us.” Oh yes, now I can tell you that when Miss Jovy visited Asingan and talked about the project to Nagkaisa members, I mentioned that I was a diehard believer in native PH chickens, and that in 2016 I had edited and produced the book titled Philippine Native Animals, subtitled Source Of Pride & Wealth Worth Conserving & Utilizing,published by the National Swine & Poultry Research & Development Center, which is under the DA. It’s 200 pages of data & information meant to inspire people to raise any of the native PH chickens: Banaba (native of Batangas), Bolinao (Pangasinan), Camarines (Bicol Region), Darag (Western Visayas), Joloano (Jolo), and Paraoakan (Palawan). 

Much later, after that talk, with others, Mayor Lopez, Roger Daranciang (Chair of Nagkaisa), and I visited the DA Region 1 office in San Fernando City, and after an exchange of news and information, Regional Director Lucrecio Alviar Jr told us that he was convinced that Nagkaisa would make an ideal coop growing native chickens. Thank you, Miss Jovy and Mr Alviar, for the trust!

And why do many chicken lovers prefer the PH native? They cannot describe the flavor exactly except to agree that the native meat has a “distinct taste.” Me? I just love that it is flavorful and healthful.@517

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[1]https://punch.dagupan.com/articles/news/2020/02/asingan-coop-gets-p-5m-worth-of-free-range-chickens/

[2]https://poultrymanual.com/native-chicken-production-philippines

How Stands PH Agriculture Today? Resilient, Surprisingly Growing 1.6% In Q2 – William Dar, Secretary

 

Despite the pandemic.

The World Bank report – Transforming Philippine Agriculture (During Covid-19 and Beyond) – is out, if late by 2 months. It’s in pdf, 128 pages.

Even the World Bank is an unwilling victim of the worldwide pandemic lockdown as countries’ reactions were uncoordinated even as rules had to be reviewed. That to me explains why the WB’s report came out 3 months later than its publication date: out of the press June2020, out to the world September2020. Somebody must have noticed some lapses in digitizing work; me, as Editor In Chief of 45 years on the broad subject of Science, I still see a few misses in editing, but nothing serious.

It was a World Bank team led by Eli Weiss, co-led by Anuja Kar, and comprising John Nash, Steven Jaffee, Roehl Briones, Carolina Figueroa-Geron, and Paula Beatrice Macandog. Joop Stoutjesdijk, Maria Theresa Quiñones, Roberto Martin N Galang, and Victor Dato gave additional inputs. (You can’t see the spelling error there; I have already corrected it.)

The report’s title of 7 words fully captures what Secretary of Agriculture William Dar has been directing national efforts in immediately dealing with from lack of farm produce in the markets to over-supply to over-pricing.

The customers must always be treated right!
And as soon as possible.

To the intellectual credit of the WB group, the report essentially follows Mr Dar’s “The New Thinking for Agriculture” that was already there when he assumed office on 05 August 2019. I quote from the report:

Policies being put in place by the current government are based on a “New Thinking for Agriculture” with eight paradigms for sectoral development and modernization: agricultural modernization, industrialization, export promotion, farm consolidation, roadmap development, infrastructure development, securing budget and investments, and legislative support.

If you want to go anywhere new and reach your destination, you have to have a new roadmap!

Underpinning these eight paradigms are the four pillars of the Department of Agriculture’s… agro-industrial strategy: inclusive sector, utilization of science-based tools, market-oriented interventions, and resilience to climate risks. This policy reorientation holds promise (of) transformational change that will produce a more resilient, inclusive, competitive, and environmentally sensitive sector. 

The DA’s agro-industrial strategy is inclusive, science-based, market-oriented, and climate smart.

Mr Dar said of the WB report:

The message of this Report is clear: The transformation of Philippine agriculture into a dynamic, high-growth sector is essential for the country. It is the surest way if we are to speed up our economic recovery from the pandemic and achieve a meaningful poverty-reduction and inclusive growth.

We are thankful that despite the social paralysis and economic slowdown the pandemic has wrought, the agriculture sector remains resilient, even growing a quite surprising 1.6 percent in the second quarter. (image of Growth[1] from Red Zone Marketing)

And so we look forward to:

As the World Bank says, the “promise (of) transformational change that will produce a more resilient, inclusive, competitive, and environmentally sensitive” PH Agriculture.

As Mr Dar says, “Science with a human face.”@517

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[1]https://www.redzonemarketing.com/the-problem-with-business-growth/

Davao City As PH Cacao Capital – How Do We Capitalize On That!?

 

On Monday, 07 September 2020, Secretary of Agriculture William Dar declared Davao City “The Cacao Capital of the Philippines[1]” (Che Palicte, 08 September 2020, PNA). (upper image, Har Gian Facebook sharing) “The city has been a consistent major producer of cacao beans in the entire Davao region, producing a total of 2,290 metric tons from 2015 to 2019.”

“(Mr) Dar congratulated Mayor Sara Z Duterte for her leadership and recognized the efforts of the Department of Trade and Industry in advancing the cacao industry in the Davao region.” Mr Dar promised that the DA will help the private sector and urged Filipinos to invest more in cacao.

For her part, Mayor Sara thanked the cacao industry players for bringing Davao City national and international recognitions. She said:

For the past few years now, Davao cacao has been recognized as among the world’s best, with our local brands making waves in international chocolate competitions, and a growing number of Filipino and foreign chocolate makers sourcing their beans here.

Having said that, she also said:

While it is one thing for our cacao and chocolates to be renowned internationally, to be recognized by the national government is just as important for us, for this is an affirmation and a celebration of the efforts of our cacao farmers and processors, and everyone in the cacao industry.

She also thanked the organic agriculture partners, “because all of your efforts have brought Davao City these accolades.” The City received an award of P300,000 for the “Most Outstanding City in the Regional Organic Agriculture Achievers.” In the same event, Neptali Buhawe was “Most Outstanding Organic Agricultural Extension Worker” and Janel N Juaton was “Organic Agriculture Young Farmer.”

Now look at the lower image above – bananas growing amidst the cacao seedlings. The photograph is shared by the married couple Kenneth & Shirley Reyes-Lao, 36 and 33 (Yvette Tan, 14 June 2020, “Couple Successfully Grows Cacao And Makes Products Without Owning A Farm Or Factory[2],” agriculture.com.ph).

Digital masters who became terrestrial workers. The couple left the information industry in Metro Manila and started “Cacao Culture Farms.” On advice, they put up a cacao seedling nursery and made money from the big demand for seedlings. Sheila says, “We had a lot of private farm buyers from all over the country… 80% of cacao comes from Davao.”

As outsider, I see windows of opportunity for cacao growers to earn more – by intercropping. I have been looking at photographs of cacao plantings in the Visayas and Mindanao but have not seen intercropping being practiced.

Do you see? While waiting for 5 years for your cacao to bear fruit, as can be seen in the lower image above, you can interplant banana or any other crop. The other crop becomes the Mother or Nurse trees of your cacao, and soon bear fruits themselves that make very good money.

You can say: “Cacao is the crop that calls for other crops to grow with it. For the sake of the cacao – and the planter!”@517

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[1]https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1114697#:~:text=DAVAO%20CITY%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Department%20of,cacao%20capital%20of%20the%20Philippines.

[2]https://www.agriculture.com.ph/2020/06/14/couple-successfully-grows-cacao-and-makes-products-without-owning-a-farm-or-factory/

How Important Are Small & Family Farms In Terms Of National Food Value & Security? Very!

 

When I read the news from ANN that the plan of Secretary of Agriculture William Dar is for the “DA To Strengthen Family Farms, Promote Digital Agriculture[1]” (05 September 2020, DA Communications Group), I thought here are 2 concepts that were strangers to each other:

“family farm” –
physical, real-world, familiar, familial, small, non-entrepreneurial
“digital agriculture” –
non-physical, non-real, unfamiliar, unfriendly.

So how do you reconcile the two seemingly unfriendly constructs?

The answer is to familiarize the farm family with the world of knowledge via the Internet. They need each other.

Mr Dar was speaking at the first-ever meeting of the 35th United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific 01-04 September 2020 held virtually (see above main image). Representatives from 41 Member Nations participated in this year’s Conference, with observers from other UN agencies, international and inter-governmental organizations, civil society, and the private sector. The FAO Regional Conferences “play an important role in governance for policy coherence for regional development; discussion of global priorities as they relate to the region; providing inputs to the Council and Conference on FAO priorities, and discussing issues such as COVID–19 and intra–regional trade and investment.”

The UN declared 2014 as the “International Year of Family Farming,” IYFF, with the Philippines filing that IYFF resolution in 2011 yet. (image of Farm & Home[2] from Linked.in) Also, the UN Decade of Family Farming has been declared, 2019 to 2028, also with the initiative of the Philippines.

During the conference, Mr Dar said:

It is important that we continuously empower vulnerable groups – smallholder farmers, fisherfolk, rural women, the youth, indigenous communities and farm families, in general – by providing them the needed technical, marketing and financial support, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Note: The DA is set to assist those vulnerable groups not only with digital knowledge in agriculture but also in providing marketing and financial supports. “Now, more than ever,” Mr Dar said, “we should reinforce this by teaching farm families to take advantage of data-driven or digital agriculture to further increase their productivity and incomes.”

Why do these groups deserve such huge attention? Mr Dar said:

Smallholders and family farmers deserve the focus in FAO discussions and programs, as they produce over 80 percent of the world’s food in value terms, and play a vital role in achieving food security and improving nutrition.

If you want to thank a farmer, thank a small farmer!

In the meantime, how is the DA actually treating digital technology? Mr Dar said:

In terms of precision agriculture and digital technology, the Department of Agriculture is fast-tracking the development of a digital roadmap for the agri-fishery sector. We aim to integrate digital technologies in the food value chain and logistics, benefiting both producers and consumers.

When Mr Dar became Secretary of Agriculture last year, he brought in “The New Thinking for Agriculture” – today, he is bringing in The New Digital Thinking for Agriculture. PH Agriculture is moving to wider knowledge!@517

 

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[1]https://www.da.gov.ph/da-to-strengthen-family-farms-promote-digital-agri/?fbclid=IwAR2yDneBZFgn5XQUr_D5xLNuOYMrgIYENeiXY5P6Lkg01HTcKI5j6tdbbLc

[2]https://ph.linkedin.com/company/family-farm-&-home/life