DA’s Kapital For Filipino Modern-Day Aspiring Young Agripreneurs (Yaggies)

History has just been written by the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) holding the first-ever “Agribusiness Pitch Challenge,” one of the competitions featured during the “1st Youth in Agriculture Summit” sponsored by the ACPC, which is under the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The Summit was held 11-12 May; in the Facebook post, ANN (Author Not Named) explains the nature of the competition:

(The Agribusiness Pitch Challenge aimed) to encourage the youth to engage in agriculture, fishery (or) agribusiness ventures. The initiative also (aimed) to ensure the continuous creation of investible ideas and start-up originators that will contribute to enhancing the DA’s food security objectives.

The DA has been encouraging the youth to come up with fundable agribusiness projects via the “Kapital Access for Young Agripreneurs” (KAYA) program. Why the youth? Secretary of Agriculture William Dar said during the virtual launch of the Agriculture Students Association of the Philippines (ASAP) Youth[1]: “The KAYA targets the youth because we acknowledge that they can be key players in ensuring affordability and availability of food supply.”

The Agribusiness Pitch Challenge drew a total of 160 young agripreneurs – yaggies – with individual pitches. ANN says, The panel of judges, who “acted as venture capitalists, investors, and business executives during the competition,” was composed of DA Undersecretary Waldo Carpio, Assistant Secretary Jane Bacayo, Assistant Secretary Liza Battad who is also the Executive Director of the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF), and Deputy Director Rosana Mula of the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) – both PCAF and ATI are agencies of the DA.

The Selection Committee was composed of representatives from the ACPC’s Advocacy, Programs Development and Communications & Public Affairs Divisions. Committee Chair was ACPC Executive Director Jocelyn Alma Badiola.

Of the applicants, the top 3 young agripreneurs (yaggies) with promising KAYA proposals were asked to pitch their concepts before a panel of experts.

The grand winner of a yaggie was 28-year old Daryl Gumacal of Agusan del Sur. His winning pitch was on the subject of “Red Tilapia Nursery And Grow Out,” taking home the grand prize of P40,000. The inaugural-winning yaggie has a 7-year background in integrated farming.

John Lester Arellaga, a 22-year old student from Palawan, was the 2^nd place yaggie and went home with a P25,000 cash prize. His pitch was on “Vermiculture Integration.” His background is Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering.

Jernet Lago, a 26-year old Agriculture student of Negros Oriental, was the 3^rdplace yaggie with her presentation on “Sustainable Production of Tilapia and Vermiculture/Vermicomposting.”

Yaggie Gumacal said:

Napaka-gandang experience nito para sa’kin. (This is a very beautiful experience for me.) This will serve as motivation for me to continue agribusiness. Sa mga kabataan, walang ibang mas magandang oras para magsimula sa agribusiness kung hindi ngayon. (To the youth, there is no time to start an agribusiness more beautiful than now.)

What else do the youth want? Let me repeat what Ms Jocelyn said, that yaggies can apply for working capital with the ACPC, the loan without collateral and without interest, up to P500,000 payable in 5 years!@517

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[1]https://www.da.gov.ph/da-offers-youth-agripreneurs-affordable-start-up-loans/

2 Ways Farming Will Change The World In The Next 20 Years, I Hope!

For your mental calisthenics – Using the 2 images above, I will introduce you to 2 entirely different guides to see Agriculture in the next decades – Quantitative and Qualitative. Not obvious? That’s why I need to explain.

Upper image: Shared on Facebook today, Saturday, 15 May 2021, is “5 Ways Farming Will Change In The Next 30 Years[1]” written by Portia Stewart and which appears in the magazine Fast Company (Agweb.com). In sharing, Earwin  Belen says “Farming of the future is data-driven.”

On 12 May, the ladies & gentlemen shown in the image discuss in a webinar the topic “Transforming The Next Era Of Agriculture Through Innovation.” Part of the Fast Company Innovation Festival, the webinar sponsor was Bayer Crop Science. They were looking at an additional world population of 2 billion people by 2050 for whom to produce food, fuel, and fiber.

They are looking at numbers, not people. Unnaturally, they are talking of the necessity for growing genetically changed crops & livestock, and applying inorganic fertilizers and chemical pesticides. No: Those methods are not sustainable. Yes: Technically feasible & economically viable. No: Environmentally not sound & not socially acceptable. Yes, that is your data-drivenagriculture.

Lower image: “Text-A-Taxi” – That is a photograph I took with my Casio Exilim camera on a street in Legaspi City in 2010 as one of the members of the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists who were invited by then-Albay Governor (now Congressman) Joey Salceda after he was declared by the United Nations as a Climate Change Champion. There was the 1^st League of Provinces of the Philippines meeting being held in Legazpi City on the broad subject of how local governments could respond to climate change.

“Text-A-Taxi” is the use of modern technology – the cellphone – to deliver a not-so-modern service, a taxi ride, anywhere in the city any time. It’s an example of the Qualitative use (“Call at your convenience”) of a Quantitative service (vehicle ride). Why did not any of the cities in Metro Manila think of Text-A-Taxi first? None of them was/had been thinking qualitatively.

There must be a climate change in the way we think about climate change and agriculture!

Look at my title again: “2 Ways Farming Will Change The World In The Next 20 Years, I Hope!” Those 2 ways are Organic Agriculture and Cooperativism.” Organic agriculture is climate-smart; cooperativism is client-smart: How can society and farmers lose?!

More specifically, organic agriculture (OA) is sustainable: technically feasible, economically viable, environmentally sound, and socially acceptable.

With OA, I am both a climate change champion as well as climate-smart!

Organic agriculture operates for the good of all agriculture and all citizens. Like democracy, it works for all the people all of the time.

Cooperatives operate for the good of all the members and notat the expense of the majority. The coops assist the poor members in their farming with material inputs, loans, machineries, warehousing and marketing – all services with member affordable rates. What can be better than cooperatives for poor farmers?!@517

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[1]https://www.agweb.com/news/business/technology/5-ways-farming-will-change-next-30-years?fbclid=IwAR10Q2GqdxJTFx3m-hfmA3ph0uMhnpqx7_HaCKsy5pOr4Dpgq1PTYKxXlq8

Shortest Cut To High Intelligence And/Or Creativity – Reading!

Here is our good friend Ramon Yedra quoting Washington SyCip on PH public education: “So the emphasis on a good public education so that the poor can use education as an equalizer, that’s essential.”

From the EsquireFebruary 2012 issue[1], here is the more complete paragraph:

My father insisted that the whole family go to public school because public schools could compete. I went to Mapa High School and Burgos Elementary School. I could compete with any La Salle or Ateneo graduate. Nowadays, you cannot. So the emphasis on a good public education so that the poor can use education as an equalizer, that’s essential.

I was thinking of overhauling the whole public school system, but no, let us simplify.

I went to a private institution, attending the high school department of Rizal Junior College(RJC) – which practiced liberal education, even if they did not call it that. The secret? RJC had a welcoming library full of book classics American and British, and American magazines: Look, Newsweek, Reader's Digest, TIME. My best teacher was not a person – it was the Reader's Digest. Some lessons: How to think, how to write, how to enjoy life.

I am a UP Los Baños BS Agriculture graduate major in Ag Edu. Among other things, I taught myself to be a creative as well as a critical writer. Inspired thus by our good friend Ramon:

I am proposing the simplest and fastest change in PH schools – from high school to college – Put up libraries well-stocked with classics (books) and old copies of American magazines, including of course National Geographic.

Who am saying all that? Here is this bold claim of mine that is at least 5 years old and in public, in my blog Creative Thinkering:

“World's creative genius online,
most prolific writer of non-fiction:
Frank A Hilario, Guru”

Thank God, going on 81, since January 2020, I have blogged every single day an essay of a minimum 500 words each – I have created several blogs along the way, the latest being: Asa Ka Pa!, Brave New World, THiNK DiFFERENT, and the latest ToCA: Towards Organic Cooperative Agriculture. (But now I have gone back to Brave New World as you can see the name above what you’re reading.) The blog names themselves will tell you how I think about what I think.

Encourage students to write, yes – but before that, encourage them to read first. They will not be able to appreciate their own writing if they have not read brilliant or creative or inspirational writing from first-rate writers and/or first-rate minds.

Since 2005, I have blogged at least 5,000 long essays of 1,000+ words each – and that is not a joke. And I have published at least 10 books authored by me, subjects from ICRISAT science to Indios Bravos: Jose Rizal As Messiah Of The Revolution.

A good education is on Thinking. A good education in thinking is Reading. Want to write like crazy? Read like crazy! That’s how to open many windows – then you can choose the one(s) you love.@517

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[1]https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/what-ive-learned/we-remember-washington-sycip-through-his-words-of-wisdom-a00011-a1521-a1881-20171008-lfrm

Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted Of Trinidad & Tobago & The 2nd E = mc2

She is the World Food Prize 2021 Winner – discoverer of the nutritional difference between “feeding” and “nourishing” people. I am sure it was a moment of brilliance, an insight: Initially pointed to by intuition, later proven by logic (research).

Who is Ms Shakuntala? Written by ANN, her Biography says[1] (Author Not Named, “2021 Thilsted,” Worldfoodprize.org):

In evaluating the nutritional composition of small native fish species in Southeast Asia, (Shakuntala Haraksingh) Thilsted was the first to establish that commonly consumed small fish were important sources of essential micronutrients and fatty acids.

Small fish, big nutrition. We Asians loved fish, that was all we knew. They were relatively cheap and even easy to catch in rivers and streams.

She led groundbreaking research showing that the content and bioavailability of necessary nutrients in small fish species were much higher than previously reported, and revealing that consuming fish enhanced the absorption of nutrients from plant-based foods.

Doing further research, she found that the big contents in nutrients coupled with their high bioavailability in small fishes in turn made the nutrients from plant-based foods more highly bioavailable for consumers, us.

This new, expanded knowledge of the nutritional profile of fish reshaped the scientific understanding of the benefits of fish in diets.

Now we humans know we need the Small Fish to eat the Big Fish!

Similarly, Albert Einstein discovered the Theory of Relativity expressed as: E=mc², or Energy (E) equals mass(m) multiplied by the speed of light(c) squared. That is why I am proposing in the name of Ms Shakuntala the

2^nd E = mc²
where
E = Efficacy
mc² = micronutrients squared.

Translation: Micronutrients are in fact Macronutrients!

It was her fealty, or loyalty to research that paved the way for such a huge & wonderful discovery. Imitating Hamlet in his soliloquy (Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, 1603), that’s why I say to Ms Shakuntala:

“Fealty, thy name is woman!”

The biography further says:

Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, native of Trinidad and Tobago and a citizen of Denmark, will receive the 2021 World Food Prize for her groundbreaking research, critical insights and landmark innovations in developing holistic, nutrition-sensitive approaches to aquaculture and food systems. By bringing together interdisciplinary and international collaborators, she drove transformations in aquatic food systems to deliver improved nutrition, resilient ecosystems and secure livelihoods for millions of vulnerable people across the globe.

She improved nutrition, made ecosystems resilient, and secured livelihoods for millions – how can one woman singlehandedly do all that? She did!

Of the award, she herself says:

Aside from personal joy and gratitude, as a scientist, I feel this award is an important recognition of the essential but often overlooked role of fish and aquatic food systems in agricultural research for development. Fish and aquatic foods offer life-changing opportunities for millions of vulnerable women, children, and men to be healthy and well-nourished.

Let me repeat her: “The essential but often overlooked role of fish and aquatic food systems in agricultural research for development.” Lady, you are my “Albert Einstein of Food Science”!@517

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[1]https://www.worldfoodprize.org/index.cfm?nodeID=96346&audienceID=1&fbclid=IwAR0OtEYExeps04Q5FVppIuvwd0CxXFl8epR-X5c9DEugm0CKS2NNaKxMpDY

The Ailing Philippine Swine Industry & The Survival Of The Fittest!

The hellaballoo (my coinage) about pork in the Philippines especially in Metro Manila, looks like plain & simple conflict of interests – the national government versus the private sector. But No: It’s the Survival of the Fittest!

In the upper image, the Department of Agriculture (DA) represented by Secretary of Agriculture William Dar (2^ndfrom left), and the private sector represented by Rosendo So (2^nd from right); Manila Mayor Isko Moreno happens to be in the middle of the two gentlemen, but never mind his sympathies. They are here to prove to the public that the eating of pork is safe despite the nationwide scare of many pigs actually dying because of the Asian Swine Fever (ASF) – in one report, 20K pigs were culled (killed) to prevent the spread of ASF[1] (30 September 2019, Lilybeth Ison, PNA.gov.ph, source of lechon image above).

Knowing of their resistance to diseases, I now point out the forgotten alternative: raising of native pigs of the Philippines.

The Philippine swine is the fittest. Black is Beautiful!

I know. The lower image is from the book titled Philippine Native Animals and subtitled Source Of Pride & Wealth Worth Conserving & Utilizing (200 pages), authored by Rene C Santiago, Angel L Lambio & Karen C Dimaranan, and published by the National Swine & Poultry Research & Development Center of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), the Center’s offices being located in Tiaong, Quezon. I was Book Editor, Layout Artist and Producer, coming up with the pdf file for digital printing – the book came off the press March 2016.

Those 4 black pigs are BAI Tiaong-Kalinga, a product of BAI breeding out of the Tiaong (Quezon) and Kalinga (Apayao) breeds. Among other things, the objectives of the BAI are to come up with a breed with consistent performance and still easy to raise in the backyards.

From the book I edited and mentioned above, the native pig’s meat is the best raw material for ethnic delicacies such as lechon, etag, cochinillo.

For whatever it is worth, as a graduate of UP Los Baños and a crusader via communication for development:

I am now personally recommending the massive production of native pigs, with the DA providing the inputs to the willing wives of farmers all over the Philippines.

Already, the educational branch of the DA, Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) has been pursuing production of native meats; see for instance, "BILIB Basta NATIVE" Profitable Guide To Basic Native Pig Production[2]” (10 February 2019, Maridelle G Jaurigue, ATI.da.gov.ph). ATI knows something we don’t!

In growing native swine across the Philippines – instead of the foreign kinds – what will we achieve? All the time we will produce pork:

Quantity – all that Filipinos need and tourists love.
Quality – nourishing, delicious, disease-free pig meats!

Remember: The native pig can only be grown with native foods, so you have automatically organic meat. And every other household can now can raise the meat they need.

Hereon, let the Philippines be known for her huge populations of Filipino swines – the delightful kinds!@517

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[1]https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1081849

[2]https://ati.da.gov.ph/ati-4a/news/02122019-1515/bilib-basta-native-profitable-guide-basic-native-pig-production

Reviewing April As Filipino Food Month – Lost Opportunities For Production & Business!

In the past month of April, were we Filipinos maximizingthe values of native foods by capitalizingon the mandate of Executive Order 469 signed in 2018 by President Rodrigo Duterte for celebrating Filipino Food Month (FFM)? My answer: Neither maximizing, nor even optimizing.

EO 469 is both patriotic and patronic – if I may coin a word – as at the same time it should encourage both the growing of local foods and the buying and eating of them.

PH native food is good – what about the price?

I have been reading April news stories and I note that not one mentioned the necessary role of restaurants, diners, fast-food joints and eateries in offering special reduced prices for their fares of Filipino dishes. Why not?

This is from me, one who has a 2-year experience being a copywriter for now historical advertising genius Tony Zorilla with his prestigious Pacifica Publicity Bureau in Makati. (For Pacifica, I invented the cashphrase, “Cash Pagbukás.”) In order to “sell” the commercial values of EO 469, I would have convinced quite a few representatives of farmers, food joints and hard-to-please diners to a conference and discussed how each sector could contribute to the celebration of FFM 2021.

The cashphrase could have been: “Better Food, Better Prices!”

Like: Restaurants, dine-ins, fast-foods and eateries could have been encouraged to offer high-quality cooked native foods with reduced prices – then Pinoys could have had a first and/or another taste of their native dishes. And because of restrictions, these could have been available via home deliveries.

And Filipino Pride should have been injected into FFM 2021.

Better sharing on Facebook 14 April 2021: SMH Toreno of DA Western Visayas says Regional Executive Director Remelyn R Recoter had “encouraged the public to consume indigenous food resources and products locally grown to help farmers face the adverse economic effects of the ongoing pandemic.” The title of the sharing was “’Patronize Local Food,’ Says DA Director” – which is to the point. But instead of pointing out the “adverse economic effects of the ongoing pandemic,” of which the customer cannot do anything, the story could have listed the delicious Filipino recipes in Western Visayas – the mere listing would have been sort of appetizing for Filipinos and foreigners alike!

Miss Remelyn says, “We aim to create awareness among Filipinos of our indigenous food and this will also be an avenue for our farmers to sell their products and for the consumers to patronize our local products.” Yes Ma’am! “Create awareness among Filipinos” – we cannot assume we Filipinos ourselves know the indigenous foods beyond our town or province!

She also says, “We have a long list of indigenous foods that provide trademark to Ilonggos, (Aklanons), and so forth such as the kadyos baboy langka, laswa, tinuom nga manok, inubaran nga manok, to name a few.” So, the news story should have shown photographs of these foods, briefly described, aimed at convincing customers to try any or all of them.

Yes, we needed a national commercial campaign for Filipino Food Month – Lost Opportunities!@517

May 2021 We Celebrate As PH Farmers’ & Fishers’ Month – Critics Notwithstanding

Above, 10 May 2021, Secretary of Agriculture William Dar is saying, “We celebrate this year’s Farmers’ & Fisherfolk’s Month in one of the most challenging periods for Philippine agriculture and the country as a whole.” (Critics included.)

Mr Dar made that announcement at the front of the headquarters of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Diliman, Quezon City above the banner saying “Buwan ng Magsasaka’t Mangingisda” – literally, “Month of Farmer and Fishers” (report via Facebook post).

I ask: “Why a 9-day delay officially opening the celebration?” When Mr Dar was Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics(ICRISAT) based in India from 2000 to 2014, the ICRISAT slogan was “Science with a human face.” The delay must be part of the search for “Science with a Filipino face.”

Today, I take that to be: “OneDA serving One Filipino Race.” A lovely sunset is the beginning of a bright new day.

Mr Dar says, “All these are growing threats to our national food security and our ability to feed our ever-growing population and protect the livelihood and income of our food producers and agripreneurs.”

There must be national unity in the midst of these pandemic threats we are confronted with. But his critics would not allow such unity. He says:

On the side, we also get our fair share of criticisms and unfounded allegations regarding our actions and decisions in our effort to address these concerns, notably on the issue of pork importation meant to immediately curb the rising pork prices and rising meat inflation for the benefit of some 100 million Filipinos.

The criticisms continue unabated.

It is unfortunate that some sectors… fail to appreciate and understand the tough balancing act we at DA and my fellow economic managers must make: price stability and food security while protecting local industries, especially during the ongoing pandemic. We follow the dictum: The greatest good for the greatest number.

“We follow the dictum: The greatest good for the greatest number.”

(Perhaps those sector leaders appreciate that dictum – except that perhaps for each of them the greatest number is that of their sector?)

We welcome the critics of the policies, programs, procedures and proactive moves of the Secretary of Agriculture  My advice is for critics to appreciate the spirit of President Rodrigo Duterte’s“Whole-of-Nation Approach” in dealing with the Communist insurgency and apply the same on the national problems in agriculture.

We will support any group critical of the current OneDA approach of Mr Dar if they can show beyond doubt that some sectors are assisted to forge ahead while other sectors are left behind in their struggles for survival and beyond.

Mr Dar says: "Bigyan natin ng pasasalamat at pagpupugay ang ating mga bayani sa kanayunan, ang mga magsasaka at mangingisda. Saludo po kami sa inyo!” (Let us give thanks and salute to the heroes in the villages, the farmers and fishers. We salute you!)

The OneDA Approach is sectoral in implementation – but national in overall orientation. “United we stand, divided we fall!”@517