Brains & Beauty Agriculture

In the last few weeks, before my 82 nd birthday on Saturday, 17 Sept 2022, I had been saying every morning upon waking up and every evening laying down to sleep: “Thank you Lord, for another day. Thank you Lord, for my family.” Now I have printed that and pasted on the wall above my wooden bed. (I'm glad I have a bed!) Actually, I have been asking God to let me live up to 100! I want to serve my country longer, an agriculturist engaged in what I call Communication for Village Development in the 21 ­ st Century (CoViD21). This began in 1975-1981, when I founded and became Editor In Chief of the 3 publications of the Forest Research Institute (FORI): monthly newsletter Canopy , quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop , and quarterly color magazine Habitat . In publication, those FORI years were the “Days of the Dinosaurs” (giant typewriters) and the typesetters, and it took days or weeks to print a newsletter, or journal, or magazine. But my heart was in the writing and editing

My President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr’s speech at the 77 th UN General Assembly was/is a superb intellectualization of the world’s aspirations in both food and security – Congratulations, BBM Sir! BBM says (from full text of UNGA speech, 21 Sept 2022, PhilStar , philstar.com ): This world order traces its roots to seventy-seven years ago. Your first Asian predecessor, Mr President, [Filipino] General Carlos P Romulo, called on our leaders then to “make this floor our last battlefield, to determine in this hall whether humanity is to survive or be wiped out in another holocaust.” Our peoples chose survival. They chose cooperation. They chose peace. And by doing so, they made history. Why not the Filipino leading the United Nations again, this time in Agriculture fighting the cause of today’s holocaust, Climate Change ? After “Peace,” BBM talks about “Food.” He says: This requires investment in food security, the fragility of which has been clearly demonstrated by the pandemi

Sunday, 25 Sept, the news in the Philippines was on the destruction by super-typhoon “Karding” (Noru). Today, Monday, the news shared on many a Facebook post is “Save Sierra Madre.” The one that caught my attention was that of Anamarie Ribunal Garcia sharing from Pangasinan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Office (PDRRMO). (“Save Sierra” from Anamarie Ribunal Garcia, Facebook) I'm from Pangasinan (Asingan); it surprises me that only the post from my province’s PDRRMO is being shared – Pangasinan is more environmentally aware than the other PDRRMOs? Another surprise: The sharer Anamarie is from my hometown! Meaning: Pangasinan is far from the Sierra Madre Mountain Range but we Pangasinenses are more conservation-conscious than the 10 other provinces actually located along the Sierra Madre Range: Aurora, Bulacan, Cagayan, Isabela, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Quezon, Quirino , and  Rizal. Wake up, Sierra Madre Rip Van Winkle people! And yes, on Faceboo

Francesco “Padre Pio” Forgione died 54 years ago, was declared Saint by Pope John Paul II 16 June 2002, and for us Roman Catholics, 23 Sept has been declared “Feast of Saint Pio” – and I join the celebration as an aggie journalist worried about Climate Change, clinging to Saint Padre Pio’s advice: “I recommend calm and calm all the time.” A companion advice from this Saint is, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” (“PH Sea Level” from Gie Limos’ Facebook sharing; “I recommend” from 206tours.com ). Wikipedia says (“Padre Pio,” en.wikipedia.org ): Padre Pio was not especially concerned with politics, but voted in Italian elections and voiced his opinions on various issues. He initially felt that Benito Mussolini had done a good job during his rule, but his feelings on Mussolini… became negative as time passed. When visited by one of Mussolini's messengers, Pio yelled at the man, "So now you come to me, after you have destroyed Italy. You can tell Mussolini that nothing can save

"Vietnam Becomes Vice President Of UN General Assembly” – Isn’t That Great News!? Not according to World Bank, considering Vietnam’s agricultural outputs in terms of efficiency, farmer welfare, and product quality (Open Knowledge Repository, openknowledge.worldbank.org ). (“UN General Assembly” from Ramon Yedra’s Facebook sharing; “Vietnamese farmer” from borgenproject.org ) Read ! The World Bank writes (26 April 2019, “Transforming Vietnamese Agriculture: Gaining More For Less” (source above cited): Over the past quarter century, Vietnam’s agricultural sector has made enormous progress. Vietnam’s performance in terms of agricultural yields, output, and exports, however, has been more impressive than its gains in efficiency, farmer welfare, and product quality. Vietnamese agriculture now sits at a turning point… Vietnam’s agricultural progress made at the expense of efficiency, farmer welfare, and product quality – I don’t want that to happen to my country, the Philippine

How do I explain to my President  Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr  about “Organic Agriculture” and/or “Regenerative Agriculture” – or to anybody else who is neither an agriculturist nor a nosy/noisy farmer? I think this teacher just learned from some Princeton students: “Just learn how to rotate your crops and you will be an excellent organic farmer!” (“Crop Rotation” from Princeton Students Climate Initiative , psci.princeton.edu ) The Princeton students are telling me: Crop rotation is the practice of “rotating crops,” or sequentially planting different crops on the same plot of land. This rotation improves soil health, optimizes soil nutrients, and combats pests and weeds. Farmers seek to plant consecutive crops that compliment each other. For example, a farmer may choose to plant beans after planting corn because the beans will return nitrogen to the soil that the corn uses up. Rotations can involve as little as two to three crops and as many as over a dozen. That is to say, if yo

As a full-blooded Ilocano , I am thrifty. Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr , my President, is a half-blooded Ilocano, his mother Imelda being one of the Visayans , known to be passionate . I see BBM as more Ilocano than Visayan; as he looks at how the world must respond to The Challenge Of Climate Change : He calls for Big Help For The Small . Speaking at the 77 th United Nations General Assembly in New York City Wednesday, 21 Sept 2022, Manila time, BBM enumerated 4 challenges the world faces today, the first being “ Climate Change ” (I quote from the full text (from PhilStar, philstar.com ): (“Marcos at UN” from bloomberg.com ) I see four challenges to the continued survival of our global community… First is climate change: The time for [talking] about [if-and-when] has long since passed -- it is here and now. Climate change is the greatest threat affecting our nations and our peoples… We call on industrialized countries to immediately fulfill their obligations under the United N

Googling as I always do before I write my first draft, I see that a great many technical sources claim that “climate change impacts agriculture” – with negative results. But the opposite is also true and very necessary to know: Agriculture adds much to the destructive power of climate change through fertilizers that produce greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to the climate crisis. The top image (from ResearchGate, researchgate.net ) is accompanied by the label that says, “Diagrammatical presentation of global warming due to fertilizers (Source: FAO 2014b).” Let’s find out more. Mehmood Ali Noor et al. say (Aug 2019, “Small Farmers and Sustainable N and P Management: Implications and Potential Under Changing Climate:” Due to fertilizer overload, soil microbes unexpectedly belch high nitrous oxide levels, resulting in the emission of greenhouse gas with 300 times more heat-trapping power compared to carbon dioxide… Soil microbes are known to [be involved] in the c

This is an FBI speaking, full-blooded Ilocano, with grandfather roots from Rosario, La Union. I'm proud to say I voted for Ferdinand “FM” Marcos Sr in the 1965 elections. Today, amidst all the sad & bad talks & thoughts, as an agriculturist (UPLB ‘65), I reminisce about “Masagana 99” – I call the “Golden Years of PH Agriculture: 1973-1978.” We exported rice in 1977-78 (“Masagana 99,” Wikipedia , en.wikipedia.org ). (21 Sept is also “World Gratitude Day” – God, thank you for even the little things!) ANN says, “Masagana 99 Both A Success And A Failure, Experts Say” ( Author Not Named , 30 Sept 2020, University of the Philippines Los Baños , uplb.edu.ph ): In 1973, an agricultural program aimed at solving the country’s then-worsening rice shortage was developed. It was called “Masagana 99,” after the Filipino word for “bountiful” and the target number of cavans per hectare of rice to be produced under the program. According to Edgardo Quisumbing , former deputy implem

Left: Represented in a single image comprising 5 Ps: “People, Prosperity, Peace, Partnership, Planet” signifying a unified movement called “ Sustainable Development ” – according to the International Youngnaturefriends ( IYNF ), a European organization. The IYNF enumerates and explains the 5 Ps image ( iynf.org ): People – End poverty and hunger in all forms and ensure dignity and equality; Prosperity – Ensure prosperous and fulfilling lives in harmony with nature; Peace – Foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies; Partnership – Implement the agenda through a solid global partnership; Planet – Protect our planet’s natural resources and climate for future generations. In that powerful single image, I believe that the IYNF has captured the very essence of the term “Sustainable Development.” Warning: The IYNF says those 5 Ps are “challenges in developing countries.” Developed countries exempted!? My old problem with “Sustainable Development” (SusDev) is that it

Singular Filipina Maria Ressa , CEO of Rappler , already a Nobel Peace Prize winner for journalism, was going to receive a different honor from the Transatlantic Leadership Network (TLN): “ Freedom Of The Media Award For Explanatory Reporting ” Saturday, 17 Sept 2022 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Should I congratulate Ms Maria, I who has not received any award other than “ Outstanding Alumnus For Creative Writing, ” historically the first & only recipient in the entire UP System? As I write this, yesterday, Sept 17 was a VIP (Very Important Point in Time) to me because it was my birthday. And yes, that Freedom Of The Media Award For Explanatory Reporting is a VIP (Very Important Preoccupation) because it gives double importance to the Nobel Prize for Ms Maria’s “Truth Journalism” – her pursuit of the truth and nothing but the truth, so help her God. A little over a year ago, on 09 Oct 2021, I blogged “Maria Ressa’s Nobel Peace Prize Reporting Vs Frank A Hilar

How blessed can one be?! Today, Saturday, 17 Sept 2022, my birthday, the gospel is “The Parable Of The Sower” – and I realize this fits my chosen life starting almost 2 years ago when I decided that, at 80, for the rest of the century of my life, I am devoting my journalism to Regenerative Agriculture ; now therefore, the gospel is telling me, “Go and be a power sower for the rest of your life!” Here is the Parable of the Sower as contained in Matthew 13 ( New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition ): That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But

My President, Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr. has always been too busy with other issues and interests that I have to change horses in the middle of the stream! On 22 Jan 2022, I blogged “If Bongbong Marcos (BBM) Will Support Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA), He Will Have My Smart Vote!” Brains & Beauty Agriculture , blogspot.com ). In all, I wrote eight (8) essays in my blog trying to attract the attention of BBM to 2 problems of Agriculture that can be solved with regenerative farming: (1) Farmer Poverty and (2) Climate Change. Sorry, BBM never took notice. So, on 09 May 2022, I voted for Leni Robredo ! (See my essay, “Ma'am Leni, Angat Buhay, Remembering Adam & Eve: Here Is How The Females Can Show The Males How To Take Very Good Care Of Their Garden Of Eden!” 17 Aug 2022, Brains & Beauty Agriculture , blogspot.com ). No, I did not know that Ma'am Leni had been interested in Agriculture all along – I thought she was interested only in helping those people in the