Regenerative Thinking… Regenerative Agriculture In The Philippines

Yes, CoVID21..... Tuesday, 23 November, my blog’s title was “Communication for Development (ComDev).” Wednesday, 24 November, my blog’s title became “Communication for Village Development 2021 (CoVID21).”

Yes! I’m trying to get more attention from more people – in telling more than the truth!

As I say in my Profile About Me: “Not Maria Ressa’s type, mine is THiNK! Journalism: True+ Helpful+ Inspiring+ Necessary+ Kind!” Instead of constantly criticizing, which is being hurtful, we should go beyond being truthful. We happily open our mouth to hurt, but we hardly open our hands to help!

Yes, the other day, Wednesday, I recreated myself, in a manner of speaking! I did not know it previously, but it so happens that in history, on that date was published the book Origin Of The Species.

History.com Editors say[1] that on 24 November 1859, Charles Darwin published Origin Of Species, saying “that man and ape shared a common ancestor. He was said to be a heretic, but his theory was scientifically sound” (“This Day In History: 11/24/1859 – Darwin’s Origin Of Species”).

Without changing the Internet address, I changed my blog’s name “Communication for Development (ComDev);” now it marks the origin of a new species of communication: “Communication for Village Development (CoVID)” – to which I have added the year of origin, hence “CoVID21.” Scary? Wonderful!

The name-concept change came about when I saw what my son Virtual Careers author & master Jomar Hilario said Wednesday, 24 November 2021, in one Facebook come-on post, as his advice to would-be Virtual Assistants (VAs) in order to increase their chances of attracting work-from-home (WFH) business offers. Jomar has elevated the art of being VAs to the art of Virtual Careers (VCs) – where “VCs” emphasizes making virtual assistance a profession, not simply an it-comes-when-it-comes affair.

My son Jomar said: “You create your ‘place in this world’ and you jumpstart your ‘online influencer presence.’"

And that made me decide that I want to create my place in this digital world and jumpstart my own influencer presence. Hence my blog’s clearly directed new name.

I thought that fit my being a self-styled WFH warrior worker for Philippine agriculture & related fields – being all-digital writer, rewriter, editor, layout artist, up to and including being desktop publisher coming out with the portable document format (pdf) prior to actual printing for copies. (Pdf is a secret/non-secret you should explore.) I have worked on 100% digital copies of countless thesis manuscripts, newsletters, journals, and books. At home, I am involved in my digital universe, my 21-year-old blog affair.

Actually, this name-cum-communication-specific-direction-change all started on Thursday, 11 November 2021, when I saw on Facebook Nenita Vargas Caceres’ sharing:

“Set a goal to achieve something that is so big, so exhilarating that it excites you and scares you at the same time” – Bob Proctor.

Yes! I decided that to achieve that Goliath of a Goal, like David I must propel a stone, mine being a new species of thinking, into the still waters of Conventional Agriculture and work to divert it to Regenerative Agriculture.

Regenerative waters, here we drink!@517

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[1]https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/24-899-video

Attention SeedWorks Philippines – Hybrid Rice Via Chemical Farming Vs Regenerative Farming

Filipinos, with the Department of Agriculture (DA), why not “Masaganang ANI, Mataas na KITA”? (Bountiful Harvest, Bounteous Income). Why not intelligent economics with hybrid rice?!

SeedWorks Philippines, I have written about your super-hybrid rice “US 88” (see my 24 November 2021 essay “RevFarm – How Hybrid Rice Can Make PH Millionaires![1]” Communication for Development).

Convinced of the super-worthiness of US 88, as a relentless blogger, UPLB graduate of ’65, BSA major in Ag Edu, and as a recent convert to Regenerative Agriculture, I am hereby enticing SeedWorks to sponsor a year-long public hybrid rice demo of 2 ha where the same US 88 will be planted in both 1-ha fields but with different cultivation methods. Probable test site: PhilRice Los Baños Station.

Field 1 (Conventional Farming)
Field preparation with disc plowing & harrowing & field leveling, nursery, transplanting, mechanical weeding, application of fertilizers & pesticides, usual irrigation practice.

Field 2 (Regenerative Agriculture)
Field preparation with rotavation, System of Rice Intensification (SRI) – none of the steps followed in Field 1.

Day 1
The 2 fields will be simultaneously prepared and digitally recorded visually and aurally, in motion, shown on live webcast, on Facebook. Will invite the media in the Philippines and abroad to witness Day 1 and anytime, especially at harvest time.

Conditions for public field demo

I have no personal conditions; I will not ask SeedWorks to pay me for the concept that is obviously in its favor – because I know that the bigger favor will be for rice farmers in the Philippines and elsewhere!

The regenerative agriculture steps I will carry out in Field 2 are the following:

Crop Refuse – Prior to the field demo, I will require that the previous crop refuse and/or weeds be left undisturbed. Why? Rotavation will turn them into organic mulch!

Rotavation – A 2-wheel hand tractor with rotavator blades attached will be used, with depth of cultivation 2-3 inches only, not deeper. This will leave a surface mulch distributed over 10,000 square meters. Organic matter ready to serve you, Sir or Madam!

Irrigation – No irrigation. With surface mulch already in place, the field will keep itself moist enough for the rice to grow.

Weeding – No weeding necessary. Remember? The rotavation had already defeated the weeds by cutting them and mixing them with the soil – when the living matter rots, as it will, death to the weed seeds!

SRI – On Field 2, I will use SRI as method for planting the rice: 25 cm X 25 cm distance, single seedling at every point. This is following the already-proven fruitful & economic farming method originated by a Jesuit, Fr Henri De Laulanie, based on his observations in Madagascar. If a transplanter is available, that will be used instead of manual labor.

Alternate Wet & Dry (AWD) – If necessary, Field B will employ IRRI’s AWD irrigation frequency.

Arrangements for field demo site with DA’s PhilRice Los Baños, as it is conveniently near IRRI and UP Los Baños campus.

I am doing this because I want Filipino rice farmers to be great & gain!@517

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 [1]https://communicationfordevelopmentphcomdev.blogspot.com/2021/11/revfarm-how-hybrid-rice-can-make-ph.html

RevFarm – How Hybrid Rice Can Make PH Farmers Millionaires!

Think Revolutionary Farming (RevFarm), Think Doable. Here’s how 5 Filipino hybrid rice farmers can raise P1M+ from 1 crop!

This is already history. In early 2020, Genaro Tamon planted “US 88” hybrid rice, on May 12 harvested an ultra high 15.73 MT (286 sacks at 55 kilos each) from 1 ha in Magarao, Camarines Sur. Computed at P18/kg, the total was P283,140; multiplied by 5 farmers, the total was P1,415,700!

To become rich, you have to think rich first.

The news of ultra high yield is by Zac Sarian[1] (16 May 2020, “Bumper Crop: US 88 Yields 15.73 Tons Per Hectare In Bicol!” Agri News, Zacsarian.com); the calculation is by me, using the average 2020 palay price of P18/kg in Central Luzon per survey by PRISM[2].

Mr Sarian says:

The bumper yield is more than three times the average national per hectare yield of 4.07 metric tons based on the latest quarterly data from the Philippine Statistics Authority in January 2020. This is probably the first time for a farmer from Bicol to produce such a high yield. (I writer would say, “Not only from Bicol but from anywhere in the Philippines!”)

Here’s one more proof that with good seeds, good agricultural practices, proper farm management and with the cooperation of the weather, the Philippines can produce its own rice requirements.

I would now gladly add: “The Philippines can produce its own rice millionaires!”

Farmer Tamon says, “Wow talaga ang US 88 variety!” (My translation: “Variety US 88 is really wow!”) Son of a rice farmer in Asingan, Pangasinan; a BSA major in Ag Edu, UP Los Baños ’65; very wide & indefatigable digital reader (often on Facebook browsing posts & sharings) – I myself am surprised, shocked even:

Costs deducted, with a total of 5 ha of hybrid rice, 5 farmers can raise P1M in only 1 cropping season! (You can dream your own hybrid dream using the data.)

That 1 million-peso dream is my introduction to my readers of my new thinking for what I now call revolutionary farming (RevFarming), with each RevFarm practicing Regenerative Agriculture – that which Filipino farmers do not seem to have heard of – and which I can see is man’s intelligent campaign to fight climate change. Yesterday, I wrote about it in my essay “Which Should We Cultivate: ‘Climate Change’ Or ‘Primate Change’? Both![3]” (23 November 2021, Communication for Development, Blogger.com).

Hybrid rice US 88 is sold by SeedWorks Philippines based in Bay, Laguna. Mr Sarian says:

(US 88) is an ideal rice variety for the country’s prevailing climate and is proven tolerant of the typical crop diseases that affect rice plants. Moreover, US 88 is well-noted for its long-grain rice with a premium, soft-eating quality.

Another welcome trait of US 88: “Ubod ng sarap!” (“Extremely flavorful!” my translation)

Via hybrid rice, I am pushing for a revolution in Philippine Agriculture that is now raging in Australia – Regenerative Agriculture!

Who told me to be a crusader for revolutionary agriculture in my home country the Philippines? I, me, myself!@517

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[1]https://zacsarian.com/bumper-crop-us-88-yields-15-73-tons-per-hectare-in-bicol/

[2]https://www.da.gov.ph/palay-prices-in-top-producing-areas-reach-p19-per-kilo/

[3]https://communicationfordevelopmentphcomdev.blogspot.com/2021/11/which-should-we-cultivate-climate.html

Which Should We Cultivate: “Climate Change” Or “Primate Change”? Both!

The ultimate truth is: If we want to counter-cultivate Climate Change, we have to counter-culture Primate Change first!
(“Till & No-Till” image[1] from Health Care Without Harm)

We must regenerate the farm to fight climate change for the better and, to do that, first we foster primate change! Primates – People must change first!

The past comes back always, either to hail us or to haunt us. “Primate Change” both hails and haunts me.

I first wrote about Climate Change more than 14 years ago, on 03 March 2007, published in the American Chronicle, “Primate Change? Or Climate Change? You Choose! – The Blogal Village Voice.” Unfortunately, that digital media has since become a victim of primate change; fortunately, I have a full reproduction of all 4,042 words of it, including the image of the ape (inset above) in my blog The American Frank[2] published on WordPress.com. I was very serious about what I was writing – that essay spread to thirteen (13) pages! single-space, short bond paper. The blog was free, as this one is on Blogger.com, which has the added attractions of being owned, managed and innovated on by Google.

No, I had no idea that in drumming up the world’s awareness on climate change, former US Vice President Al Gore would win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, shared with the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), awarded 12 October 2007.

Today, on my own initiative, I embark seriously on another intellectual adventure: Regenerative Agriculture, or Regenerative Farming – with the shortcuts ReFarming for the whole concept and ReFarm for the process.

Example: Instead of disc-plowing the field,
ReFarm it by using a rotavator.

But first, let me list the things I am considering right now for Coverage and Content of Regenerative Farming, that is, instead of Conventional Farming (ConFarming):

1.     Brief Histories of ReFarming & ConFarming

2.     ReFarming & Business Model Selection

3.     ReFarming & Field Selection

4.     ReFarming & Crop Selection

5.     ReFarming & Seed Selection

6.     ReFarming & Soil Enrichment Selection

7.     ReFarming & Field Preparation

8.     ReFarming & Seed Preparation

9.     ReFarming & Seeding / Transplanting

10. ReFarming & Irrigation

11. ReFarming & Weed Control

12. ReFarming & Pest Control

13. ReFarming & Rouging

14. ReFarming & Harvesting

15. ReFarming & Drying The Harvest

16. ReFarming & Bagging & Storage

17. ReFarming & Processing

18. ReFarming & Marketing

19. ReFarming & Preparing For Next Season

Consider #1: Now, why is “Business Model Selection” (BMS) in the list?

In what I shall now refer to as Frank A Hilario’s ReFarming Bible (Slogan: “To ReForm Agriculture”), it is best that everything begins with BMS – the farmer has to select whether he will farm alone, with a group or association, or with a true-blue cooperative.

So, where is regenerative agriculture in that list? Good question! So, there’s more where this is coming from.

I am glad to tell you now that with regenerative agriculture, I am loving agriculture the second time. And now I know it’s true – “Love is lovelier the second time around!”@517

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[1]https://noharm-uscanada.org/regenerativeagriculture

[2]https://theamericanfrank.wordpress.com/

It’s Time To Teach Teachers & Parents High IQ Is Nothing – “Walang Bubo!”

When I was in high school, I took the Reader's Digest test, and I found my IQ was that of a Genius. I forgot the figure but I know it was a high IQ score.

In the Facebook sharing (above), author Adrien touts the IQs of African Ramarni Wilfred, IQ of 162; African-American Anala Beevers, 4 years old, IQ of 145+; and British Alannah George, IQ of 140 (19 Nov 2021, “Three Young Geniuses Among The Highest IQs Ever In The World[1],” Green Living Tribe, Greenlivingtribe.com).

So what? A high IQ is nothing!

An agriculturist – BSA major in Ag Edu, UP '65, 2.36 weighted average, with a few 5’s – and a self-taught warrior writer in communication for development (ComDev), which is this genius’ own brainchild, I am quite interested in the state colleges & universities (SCUs) in my country the Philippines – the SCUs should revise their curricula to consider this:

Each of us has a different High IQ!

In 1983, Harvard psychology professor Howard Gardner presented his brainchild “Multiple Intelligences” (MI) in his book Frames Of Mind (Basic Books, 440 pages, Worldcat.org[2]). Here is the MI list:

1. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (“Body Smart”)
2. Existential Intelligence (“Life Smart”)
3. Interpersonal Intelligence (“People Smart”)
4. Intrapersonal Intelligence (“Self Smart”)
5. Mathematical-Logical Intelligence (“Number/Reasoning Smart”)
6. Musical Intelligence (“Music Smart”)
7. Naturalist Intelligence (“Nature Smart”)
8. Spatial Intelligence (“Image Smart”)
9. Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence (“Word Smart”).

Even as a formally-trained educator in the single IQ world, when I read about Gardner’s MI theory, I immediately fell in love with the idea that each of us has his/her innate or natural genius –which the schools should be able to discover. MI is the theory that says:

“Walang bubo!” There are no stupid people!

Frank Agapito Hilario? Not an athlete. Not life smart. Not people smart. Not self smart. Not number smart. Not music smart. Not nature smart. Not image smart. I say “So what?!” 8 times I say to myself: “Not. But I’m a creative writer!”

I discovered myself. All the teacher has to do is help the student discover where s/he is smart – then teacher and student will live happily ever after!

Now you can see the implications of Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences – the teacher has the ultimate duty to help each learner to discover one’s innate talent!

The power of multiple intelligences should now prevent or erase the stigma of “stupid” among learners.

Now, how to apply MI in Agriculture? For instance, at UP Rural High School, considering each learner:
(UPRHS image from Pagpupugay[3], Facebook)

If body smart? Encourage athletics.
If life smart? Encourage leadership.
If people smart? Encourage teaching.
If self smart? Encourage self-mastery.
If number smart? Encourage a business mind.
If music smart? Encourage musicality.
If nature smart? Encourage philosophy.
If image smart? Encourage painting.
If word smart? Encourage creative writing.

With each child, now you know the smart thing to do. Teacher or parent, if you don’t know yourself where you’re smart, go discover your inborn smartness!@517

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[1]https://greenlivingtribe.com/three-young-geniuses-among-the-highest-iqs-ever-in-the-world/?fbclid=IwAR3qjSizMln93bGWIm6kWM3KN3_h032kelroue_EK8C7ElYHrJdcp3zV518

[2]https://www.worldcat.org/title/frames-of-mind-the-theory-of-multiple-intelligences/oclc/9732290

[3]https://www.facebook.com/pagpupugay2018UPRHS/

Dingras, Ilocos Norte Farmer Cooperatives Earn PH Millions As Certified Seed Growers Of Mungbean!

Yes Sir! As a warrior writer in communication for development (ComDev), my reinvention of UP Los Baños’ development communication (DevCom), I am very much encouraged to see that the Department of Agriculture (DA) is, pardon my expression, “well-fully reinventing PH Agriculture!”

With 46 years working on various publications for public and private institutions and individuals, I have never been as excited as I was reading the new DA magazine Ani at Kita (November 2021 issue), which highlights details of programs derived from Secretary of Agriculture William Dar’s “The New Thinking For Agriculture” that he brought to the DA already packaged before his appointment by PRRD. They don’t make Secretaries of Agriculture like they used to anymore!

The above image is the magazine’s cover, the main cover story screaming:

Farmers Earn Millions From Munggo.

Leilani Adriano says the Dingras munggo farmers belong to 3 cooperatives: (1) Casalaysayan, Segundo, Dancel, Camining & Soriano Farmers Association Inc., (2) Lanas Timpuyog Farmers Association Inc,, and (3) United Barong Farmers Association. With the munggo program, the DA is assisting communities “to increase their income through the planting of value-adding commodities, aside from rice.” Emphasis: “Income… aside from rice.”

Project Leader Mark Ariel Agresor says the DA market-matched the farmers’ produce with the Nutridense Food Manufacturing Corporation:

By linking them directly to manufacturers, (farmers) get a better chance to sell their produce at a higher price rather than to walk-in traders who dictate the price….

Mr Obrero says, as translated from Filipino by Ms Leilani, “Our heartfelt thanks to (the) DA, provincial and municipal governments for their continuing support and assistance to us in (growing) munggo.”

Agri Incubation Hub

ANN says the office of Regional Executive Director Nestor D Domenden of Region 1 “is now working on the establishment of an Agribusiness Incubation (ABI) Hub “wherein science-based technologies and innovations will be showcased” (Author Not Named). Worth P234.7 million, the ABI Hub will be established at Region 1’s Pangasinan Research & Experiment Center based in Sual. The Hub “aims to promote sustainable innovations that can be offered for adoption to farmers and fisherfolk to boost diverse agro-industries, and further enhance productivity and profitability of the agri-fishery sector of the Region.” Innovations include the raising of goat, native pig, native chicken, duck, high-value crops, and bamboo – up to and including product development , processing, packaging & marketing.

School-Based Milk Program

Ma Cecilia C Irang says, “DA-Assisted Milk Cooperative Takes Lead In Government School-Based Feeding Program” in Nueva Ecija. A joint venture of the Licaong Agriculture Cooperative and food giant San Miguel Corp – they have already distributed 1.4 million cans of sterilized milk nationwide, part of the “School-Based Milk Feeding Program” of the Department of Education, with a budget of P7M.

There is more actually in those 17 pages – google the DA for your copy now! This issue of Ani At Kita Magazine is such a value-packed labor of love that with my personal experiences in years carrying out such a role, I must congratulate Noel Ocampo Reyes, Editor In Chief!@517

Avocado Being Blamed For Climate Change – No, It’s Growers’ Greed For Gold!

How can some people blame each avocado for “drinking” up to 320 liters of water to grow? The avocado tree is not guilty of over-drinking water while those “experts” are guilty of over-thinking Climate Change!

On Facebook, Nestor V Saludo shares what ANN says, “Top Chefs Declare War On Avocados In Their Restaurants[1]” (Author Not Named, 15 Nov 2021, DW Global Ideas):

Some of the world’s top chefs are moving away from using avocados in their restaurants –substituting popular dishes like guacamole… The reason behind the move is a concern about the large carbon footprint of this fruit and its unsustainable harvesting methods that lead to a loss of biodiversity, water scarcity and deforestation.
(globe-hand image[2] from Fair Observer)

Those 52 italicized words above are eye-opening if you knew climate change – I see that those chefs are literally barking at the wrong tree!

That paragraph is pregnant with meanings, plural. In fact, in those 52 words, we can already identify the culprits:

Unsustainable harvesting methods

I say those 3 words precisely point to wrong methods of harvesting and not a wrong fruit being harvested. Ergo, change methods, not fruit!

Loss of biodiversity

I say this is happening all over the world, and not only in avocado-country Mexico. Why? For profit out of food, our farmers practice monoculture – planting wide tracts of land to only 1 crop, such as avocado!

In Mexico, avocado farming in the state of Michoacán “has a land production size equivalent (to) 196,000 football fields; its regional economy is strongly dependent on a product with a market value of around $2.5 billion a year.”

So: Greed-dictated mono-cropping, not Mother Nature-dictated multi-cropping, is heating up the Earth. The fruit is gold, so the grower goes for more and more gold!

Water scarcity

I say: You plow large tracts of land and uniformly expose the surface soil without organic matter such as crop refuse on top of the field – how do you expect the soil water to behave except to evaporate automatically?! If instead, a natural mulch such as from a green manure crop is incorporated into the soil surface, there would always be water abundance.

Deforestation

To satisfy the hunger for profit, Mexican farmers open up forestlands. Manuel Ochoa Ayala says (24 Feb 2020, “Avocado: The 'Green Gold' Causing Environment Havoc[3],” World Economic Forum, weforum.org):

Disproportionately huge demand for the fruit is creating a climate change effect. Forest lands with diverse wildlife have been destroyed to produce avocado, and many more (are) intentionally burned to bypass a Mexican law allowing producers to change the land-use permit to commercial agriculture instead of forest land, if it was lost to burning.

Mr Ayala says that sadly, avocado is being grown at the expense of forests – and wildlife. Also, farmers are intentionally burning forests so that they can change the land-use permit from “forest land” to “commercial agriculture”!

In short, it is the overwhelming profit motive of farmers that is the harbinger of climate change, not the crop that they grow!@517

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[1]https://m.facebook.com/pg/dw.globalideas/posts/?ref=page_internal&mt_nav=0

[2]https://www.fairobserver.com/more/environment/climate-change-environmental-news-global-warming-latest-world-news-47902/

[3]https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/avocado-environment-cost-food-mexico/