“Star Community Awards” For Inclusive Growth In PH Agriculture – c/o Philippine Agricultural Journalists

Writing & blogging the “’Nescafé Plan’ Wins PH 2021 Grand Anvil Award – Nescafé Thanks DA, LandBank, GIZ[1]"(25 March 2021, Asa Ka Pa!) based on real events, inspired in me an idea, what I now call “Star Community Awards” covering PH Agriculture under the leadership of Secretary of Agriculture William Dar.

Question: Is Mr Dar going to lead PH out of The Twilight Zone? Yes! I have the greatest faith in him with his much varied experiences leading local and international agencies in science. Consider: For 15 long years, he was Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) based in India. Mr Dar team-captained ICRISAT from dead last to #1 among the 15 international agricultural research centers under CGIAR.

Mr Dar’s ICRISAT slogan was “Science with a human face.” Today, I propose a national project for the Philippine Agricultural Journalists (PAJ), adopting a similar slogan – “Science with a community face” – for The Star Community Awards Project. (Still looking for sponsors.)
(original rainbow star image[2] from Vecteezy.com)

The Star Community Awards is for the inclusive development of PH Agriculture, where “inclusive” means progress reaching the poor farmers and fishers so that they are able to emancipate themselves from poverty – and sustain their families.

There will be a Star Community Award for each PH Region – and a Superstar. The criteria for judging will be what I call the “5 Cs of Community”:

1. Clustering of farms

2. Collaboration of LGUs, business, private sector, farmers & fishers

3. Cooperation among participants in a community project

4. Community actions

5. Communication for development.

1, Clustering
The clusters include farmers & fishers working together for the common good. These can be groups, associations, or cooperatives.

2, Collaboration
Each Star Community project to be considered for any award shall be a collaborative endeavor among these sectors: farmers & fishers, local government units, private sector, businessmen, and philanthropists. To ensure active & real collaboration, a working group (WG) will be formed with representatives from the different sectors, to serve as the governing body of the cluster.

3, Cooperation
Cooperation is expected within each and among clusters. Rules & regulations shall be promulgated by the WG of each cluster. The WG shall have such rules & regulations discussed in public and the results officially adopted.

4, Community
“Community” here is taken to refer to a conglomeration of farms, villages, towns and/or provinces working for a common project/program. Encouraged are the provisions of trainings, assistances in the forms of loans and machineries for fishing and farming:  multiple cropping, crop & livestock combinations, and products processing, up to and including postharvest handling, as the case may be, and marketing.

5, Communication for Development (ComDev)

Stories will be written by PAJ members during/after visiting the villages. Articles will be edited much as they may relate to community welfare, and published in the “Star Community Awards” PAJ-created website. Local correspondents will be encouraged for stories. All journalists shall be paid for their labors.@517

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[1]https://asakaparin.blogspot.com/2021/03/nescafe-plan-wins-ph-2021-grand-anvil.html

[2]https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/220963-abstract-star-funky-vector-background

“Nescafé Plan” Wins PH 2021 Grand Anvil Award – Nescafé Thanks DA, LandBank, GIZ

Nescafé’s concern for coffee farmers is what I am concerned about today, with Nescafé Philippines winning the 2021 “Grand Anvil Award” at the “56^th Anvil Awards” virtual ceremonies on 19 February 2021, according to ANN[1] (Author Not Named, 04 March 2021, Business.inquirer.net).

The Anvil Awards is a yearly project of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP). The panel of jurors for this year’s awards was chaired by former Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio Jr. The PRSP was founded by Jose A Carpio[2], who defined public relations as “doing good and telling it well” (Luis J Morales, 10 September 2018, “PR Then And Now: Doing Good And Telling It Well,” BusinessMirror.com.ph). That is as articulate as you can get!

This year’s Anvil winner, “Nescafé Plan Project Coffee+,” is actively assisting in meeting the production, postharvest processing & marketing needs of 1,500 coffee farmers of Bukidnon and Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao.

The Nescafé Plan – they don’t make them like they used to!

ANN above says:

The Grand Anvil was bestowed on the Nescafé Plan, a long-term program of Nestlé Philippines to help the country’s Robusta coffee farmers raise their yields, incomes and quality of life, while promoting increased local coffee production and the growth of the country’s coffee industry, within the framework of sustainability. Under (the Nescafé Plan), production by the participants has doubled, while incomes have tripled. Nestlé Philippines increased its local buying of Robusta coffee beans in the past crop year by 27%.

It’s Mutual Advancement Society!

What Nescafé and the coffee farmers of Mindanao are doing is not simply public relations but public service – the company provides material assistances, plural, and the farmers produce excellent coffee beans that Nescafé Philippines needs for its products. (I am an inveterate coffee drinker, and my favorite is Nescafé Brown.)

Institutional partners of Nestlé Philippines in carrying out the Nescafé Plan are the Department of Agriculture (DA); the DA agencies Agricultural Credit Policy Council and Agricultural Training Institute; Department of Trade and Industry, LandBank, and GIZ, the German Corporation for International Cooperation.

Now then, the Nescafé Plan we are talking about as public relations is also international relations. I’ll drink to that!

In fact, this year Nestlé Philippines won many Anvil awards, and Chairman and CEO Kais Marzouki said of them:

As the Kasambuhay[4] of Filipino coffee farmers and of the environment, we are deeply honored to be conferred these Anvil Awards, which equally belong to our partners in the government and the private sectors because they have helped make our accomplishments a reality. Their collaboration is important. In the face of the pandemic, as a force for good, we are inspired to work even harder as we help build better lives for our coffee farmers and a sustainable coffee industry, and pursue the journey towards a waste-free future.

The Nescafé Plan is also Collaboration. 
Collaboration for Good is the name of the game!@517

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[1]https://business.inquirer.net/318816/nestle-philippines-nescafe-plan-bags-grand-anvil-at-prsp-56th-anvil-awards?fbclid=IwAR2Rs4jLIuxQTe70us0K4py1zptFT7uTb1qzSXqxNyEG4_SBVG7vdx-87Nk

[2]They must be blood relations but I could not find a corroborating link.

[3]https://img.aws.livestrongcdn.com/ls-1200x630/cme/cme_public_images/www_livestrong_com/photos.demandstudios.com/getty/article/176/127/166542229_XS.jpg

[4]Literally, “life partner”

Aquaculture In A New Light – Solar Power In Mimaropa By PH DoST

Metaphorically, “Let there be Light!” DoST said, and there was Fish. Materialistically, this time, the Department of Science & Technology (DoST) is revolutionizing Aquaculture in the Philippines by setting up and launching a solar-powered, intensive aquaculture setup for tilapia, milkfish and white shrimp in Roxas, Oriental Mindoro. 

We learn that from Charissa Luci-Atienza’s report, “First-Of-Its-Kind Aquaculture Facility Launched In Oriental Mindoro – DoST[1],” 21 March 2021, Manila Bulletin).
(lower image[2] from Solartility.com)

The solar-powered aquaculture facility, launched in March[3] in Roxas, Oriental Mindoro, was funded under DoST’s Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program “to encourage the industry to adopt smart aquaculture farming systems” to produce more, cost less, and compete better in the market. Owner of the facility is Agritektura Enterprises.

The whole facility can grow 1,500 tilapia breeders, each of which can produce 500 fingerlings per month, while the grow-out ponds can accommodate 13,000 fingerlings. On the other hand, the circular pond can accommodate 100,000 white shrimp fry every rearing season. Solar power reduces the monthly electrical bill by P25,000.

Compared to livestock farming, Mr De La Peña said, “Aquaculture is seen as a (more) promising industry, as commodities show potential in addressing food and nutritional security because of its (more) efficient feed conversion (ratio) compared to livestock production.” Meaning, per unit of feed, fish converts more into flesh than chicken into meat or than cattle into beef.

More fish be with you!

About white shrimp, American kitchen blogger Emma Christensensays, “White shrimp(s) are prized for their large size, their tender texture, and their mild flavor[4]” (Kitchn). In nature, there is a season for the white shrimp – our own PH Ms Charissa does not say or does not quote DoST as saying that the solar-powered aquaculture facility in Oriental Mindoro allows the culturing of white shrimps the whole year through.

Mr De La Peña said:

The solar-powered hatchery can be used for grow-out and production of high-quality fingerlings of tilapia and milkfish. The facility works with a Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS). The RAS is a unique fish farming technique that allows rearing of fish at high densities or in tanks with a “controlled” environment rather than in an… open pond setting.

 In the RAS, where the water is cleaned out automatically even as it is recirculated, you grow more fish with less space; in the open pond, you can grow only less fish even with more space because the fish & food wastes take more time to settle into the bottom of the pond. With the RAS, technology is your economic ally, your business partner.

About the solar power, it must be the idea itself of Agritektura, which is a Filipino corporation based in Roxas, Oriental Mindoro, with a great number of innovative projects. The corporate description speaks for itself (https://agritektura.ph):

AGRITEKTURA… stands for Agrikultura, Arkitektura, Teknolohiya, Edukasyon, Kalikasan, Kalusugan, Kasaysayan, Komersyo, Komunidad, Komunikasyon, Turismo at Kultura.

Agritektura describes itself as a Movement to harness the potential of Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon & Palawan (Mimaropa). So, move!@517

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[1]https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/21/first-of-its-kind-aquaculture-facility-launched-in-oriental-mindoro-dost/

[2]https://solartility.com/residential-grid-tied/

[3]No exact date given

[4]https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-white-bro-1-149543

The Farmers’ Muddle & The Updated PH Development Plan 2017-2022

On Facebook, via National Economic & Development Authority (NEDA), the gentlemen and ladies who prepared the 332-page  Updated Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 (downloadable as pdf), are asking for feedback, and so as a self-assumed (if self-assured) Crusader for Farmers’ Progress, after my perusal, these are what I have to say:

(1)  The Vision is Excellent. “Metatag, maginhawa at panatag na buhay (strongly rooted, comfortable, and secure life for all.”

(2)  The Strategies are Well-Conceived: “Malasakit” (referring to government Concern for the people), “Pagbabago” (Social Transformation) and “Patuloy na Pag-unlad” (Continuing Progress) (the English translations are mine).

(3)  The Goal is Brilliant as well as Complete. “The Goal is to lay down the foundation for inclusive growth, a high trust and resilient society, and a globally competitive knowledge economy.”

Three time’s a charm!

Now I want to concentrate on the Goal, the first part, “inclusive growth,” which means to me economic progress that includes the poor. That is to say, those who are on the poverty line and below are able to rise from their economic insufficiency to economic sustainability – mainly as fruits of their genius and, literally, ground works.

I do declare: To solve the problem of poverty, first you must look for the causes – now, where is the foundation to accomplish that? After programmatically scanning those 332 pages, I found that the brains of The Updated Plan 2017-2022 did not search for or did not include causes of poverty! How can you solve a problem when you do not know the root cause(s)?!

Now then, with me being the son of an Ilocano poor farmer of Asingan, Pangasinan, plus from the perspective of my educational background of BS Agriculture major in Ag Edu (UP '65), plus my 45 years off-and-on varied experiences as Editor In Chief of technical publications based at the campus of UP Los Baños in Laguna, I want to tell those who prepared the approximately-137,000-word Updated Plan what they ignored, what are the causes of poverty of our farmers, which have kept the poor that poor since the Spanish colonizers taught the islands agriculture (you may want to check that out, see my essay, “Christianity Not Only Brought To The Philippines Culture – Also Agriculture![1]” 18 March 2021, Asa Ka Pa!). I will package them and call the result The Farmers’ Muddle, comprising of the following:

(1)   Relatively high costs of inputs – seeds, fertilizers, pesticides

(2)   Improper use of technologies – cultivating soil and planting seedlings

(3)   Reliance on fast-cash loans – at usurious interests

(4)   Inefficiencies in harvesting and drying – if non-mechanized

(5)   Ill-timed selling of new harvest – price dictated  by merchants.

On the high costs of inputs, the updaters of the plan could have directed the Department of Agriculture, which is now under Secretary of Agriculture & Servant Leader William Dar, to formulate a Farm Production Package considering the actual situations of poor farmers, and all of the above. That should have gone into one complete chapter of The Updated Plan. You cannot simply forget those millions and sleep soundly at night!@517

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[1]https://asakaparin.blogspot.com/2021/03/christianity-not-only-brought-to.html

Where Are The Poor Rice Farmers In The Updated PH Development Plan 2017-2022?!

Ha. On Facebook, the National Economic & Development Authority (NEDA), who directed the preparation of the Updated Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, is asking for feedback. As a Filipino, I have downloaded the pdf, read it with the Editor In Chief in me, and these are what I have to say in summary:

(1) Vision is Excellent. “Metatag, maginhawa at panatag na buhay (strongly rooted, comfortable, and secure life for all).”

(2) Strategies are Well-Conceived: “Malasakit” (Concern for the people), “Pagbabago” (Transformation) and “Patuloy na Pag-unlad” (Continuing Progress) (English translations mine).

(3) Goal is Brilliant as well as Complete. “The Goal is to lay down the foundation for inclusive growth, a high trust and resilient society, and a globally competitive knowledge economy.”

Excellent vision, well-conceived strategies, brilliant & complete goal – yet, even at 332 digital pages, The Plan is incomplete! It’s the lack in Methodology.

I want to concentrate on the Goal, first part, “inclusive growth,” which means to me economic progress that includes the poor. Especially the poor farmers. That is to say, those who are on the poverty line and below are able to rise from their economic insufficiency to economic sustainability– mainly as fruits of their genius.

I do declare: To solve the problem of poverty, first you must resolve the cause(s). After programmatically searching those 332 pages, I found that the brains of The Updated Plan did not search for any of the causes of poverty! How can you solve a problem not knowing the root cause(s)?!

The best that the Updated Plan offers to rice farmers is this 32-word sentence about the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF):

The (RCEF) provides assistance to rice farmers in the form of farm machinery and equipment, high-yielding seeds, access to affordable credit, and skills training programs on farm mechanization and modern farming techniques.

Nothing on rice farmers’ emancipation from poverty!

Now then, with me being the son of a poor Ilocano farmer of Pangasinan, with the perspective of my BS Agriculture major in Ag Edu (UP '65), and with my 45 years off-and-on varied experiences as Editor In Chief of technical publications, I want to tell the NEDA people where The Updated Plan is outdated – what I know are the causes of poverty of our rice farmers, which have kept the poor that poor since the Spanish colonizers taught the islands Agriculture. I will now package them and call the result The Farmers’ Muddle:

(1)   Relatively high costs of inputs– seeds, fertilizers, pesticides

(2)   Improper use of technologies– cultivating soil and planting seedlings

(3)   Reliance on fast-cash loans– usurious paybacks

(4)   Inefficiencies in harvesting and drying– non-mechanized

(5)   Ill-timed selling of new harvests – price dictated  by merchants.

Covering all of the above, the updaters of the plan could have directed Secretary of Agriculture and very-much-experienced Servant Leader William Dar, to formulate The 21^st Century PH Farm Revolution Package. That should have made one complete chapter of The Updated Plan. NEDA, if you leave the rice farmers poor, how can you sleep soundly at night?!@517

Chooks-To-Go Roasts Drug-Free Chickens? Check!

For chicken ready to eat, in cities & many towns in the Philippines, my googling says we have Andok’s, Bojangles, BonChon, Chooks-To-Go, Chowking, Hot Star, Jollibee, Kfc, Mang Inasal, Max’s, and McDonald’s. A few I never heard.

In my hometown Asingan, Pangasinan, the very first to arrive as a fast-food setup is Chooks-To-Go. I don’t remember when, but that was years ago. The food store was right there across the street from the Danggay House, the home of our Nagkaisa Multi-Purpose Cooperative, located next to the town plaza. The Asingan town hall was also and still is nearby.

The Chooks-To-Go chickens a-roasting were delicious to see, but I thought, “They’re all the same, those ready-to-eat birds. Grown with antibiotics, the antibiotic being used in a quantity that turns it into a growth hormone. How do I know that? I’m an Agriculturist, UP Los Baños ’65 (yes, I’m 80), and a wide reader.

Here comes “Zero Antibiotics Chicken,” image above, a Facebook post of Bounty Agro Ventures Inc (BAVI), which owns Chooks-To-Go:

For us, health comes first.

I say, food is health – or not. Do you know that your rice grains may have pesticide residues from the farmer’s sprayings?

And a healthy Philippines is best achieved only with truly healthy chicken.

I will have to add to that. A healthy Philippines is achieved additionally with truly healthy rice – no residues of fungicide, insecticide, or weedicide.

That’s why we at Bounty Agro Ventures Inc (BAVI) always make the first move to offering healthy food.

Thank you, Ronald Mascariñas!

Our Zero Antibiotics Chicken is now produced by all our processing plants. More Filipinos now have access to the chicken that is “Laki Sa Alaga, Hindi Sa Gamut.” (Grown By Care, Not By Drug – my translation).

In 2019, we were the first Filipino company to rank among the world’s best poultry integrators when it comes to antibiotic stewardship.

That should read “zero antibiotic stewardship.” The usual modern poultry house feeds or injects antibiotics in small doses into live chicken flesh, whereby the antibiotic behaves like a growth hormone – and the chicken grows fast. Not healthy!

And in 2017, we were the first in the country to ever raise chicken without antibiotics – which is crucial to fight the fast rise of deadly, antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

So, it has been 3 years since those Chooks-To-Go chickens began to be grown without antibiotics. Now then, you don’t have to eat chicken that comes with free antibiotics!

All this and more for a healthy Philippines.

Yes, Chooks-To-Go, here’s to a healthy Philippines by means of healthy chickens! What did Father of Medicine Hippocratessay again? “Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine thy food.” Healthy foods, healthy bodies.

One last word: The restaurants I enumerated above all cook foreign breeds of chickens. If you asked me, my preference is the native chicken, not because I love my country but because I love the taste of the native – intense & flavorful with just a little salt or fish sauce (patis).

For now, let me have another order of Chooks-To-Go, please!@517

Fish Makers As Peace Makers – The Abra Fish Cage Livelihood Project

We are in the border of Ilocos Sur and Abra, in Pilar, landlocked town 2 of whose villages are “conflict-affected” – Nagcanasan and Ocup. In the Facebook sharing of Noel Ocampo Reyes, who is the spokesperson and Assistant Secretary for Communications & Media Affairs of the Department of Agriculture (DA), we are looking at 2 units of fish cage techno-demo projects installed in the Pagada River that passes through those villages.

This effort of establishing a fish source was the initiative of the 81^stInfantry Battalion of the Philippine Army. The idea came about during the soldiers’ “Serbisyo Caravan” (Service Caravan) last 24 November 2020. After that, the soldiers coordinated with the Bureau of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Provincial Fisheries Office in Abra to identify what fisheries intervention was feasible in the Pagada River.

Four months after the Service Caravan, BFAR, the local government unit of Pilar, in partnership with the Community Support Program of the Charlie Company, 81st Infantry Battalion, 7th Infantry Division, Philippine Army, through Commanding Officer 1LT Arthur Rey B Aranggo, executed the stocking of tilapia fingerlings in the river (above images).

Rodelio D Diaz, speaking for the Nagcanasan fishers, said the eagerness to put up a fish cage started last year, as their fish supply still came from the town of Bangued in Abra, a 2-hour drive with a jeepney fare of P400. I say, you produce your own and save much on costs.

Mr Diaz was happy:

We are very thankful that even in the remotest area in Pilar, our barangay… Nagcanasan, we are still able to receive livelihood assistance from the government.

In Barangay Ucop, Juanito D Dela Cruz Jr said, “We will religiously do the record keeping to show the feasibility of producing fish in our area because we wanted to produce food for our (families)."

Record keeping – This is quite welcome and a revelation! I have been writing on Filipino farmers for 13 years, and this is the first time a farmer talks about record keeping. In short, he wants to know where the money goes and how much comes out with his efforts. A good business sense that most farmers lack.

The tilapia fingerlings were sourced from San Ramon East, Manabo, Abra through Lym Pait, a fisher beneficiary of the research cum extension project funded by the Bureau of Agricultural Research and implemented by the National Fisheries & Development Institute, National Freshwater Fisheries Technology Center of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and BFAR Cordillera Administrative Region.

BFAR Regional Director Lilibeth L Signey said each of the units includes 4 modules (cages) stocked with 6,000 tilapia fingerlings. The assistance comes with bags of fish feeds good for 3-4 months. Ms Lilibeth said, “A yield of almost 2 metric tons is projected after 4 months.”

This End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) initiative is based on PRRD’s Executive Order 70 series 2018 institutionalizing the “Whole-of-Nation” Approach to end local insurgency as a necessary step to gain sustainable and inclusive peace. This is ELCAC Fish for Peace!@517