The Next Journalism – Applying AI, Alternative Intelligence

I saw this Facebook sharing by Tony Moran on Joel Pablo Salud's essay titled, "New Journalism And The Rebel Storytellers" (29 May 2019, Philippines Graphic, philippinesgraphic.net), and was intrigued, as Andre Santillana and he were commenting on the New Journalism. This was Mr Salud's lecture at the University of Santo Tomas, UST. Neither the date when Mr Salud spoke was mentioned, nor the name of the "National Literature Month 2019." Even good journalists miss to mention some important data or info. 

I think those 2 missing pieces of important information taken together betrays our lack of appreciation as well as application of the digital platform for socially engaged journalism – and that is what this essay is about.

Mr Salud's application of the New Journalism is exciting, immersive, revealing, and revered worldwide by intellectuals. But it is old – and individualistic. If I may borrow from John Donne's meditative poem "No Man Is An Island," this will make it clearer:

No author is an island entire of himself;
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.

Self-styled writer, I should know that, enjoying a digital life now spanning 24 years and at least 100 blogs of different fields and subjects that contain a total of at least 5,000 long essays of at least 1,000 words each. Google "Frank A. Hilario" and get to know me better.

I did invent "Alternative Journalism" 2 years ago on Innocents Day (28 December 2016, "Truth & The Power Of A New Journalism," Alternative Journalism, blogspot.com). I loved it, but that was still New Journalism, telling lessons by telling stories – just like Mr Salud is telling his audience.

This time, Alternative Intelligence Journalism is taking advantage of alternative thinking and alternative platform – digital.

I'm 79 now; I taught myself personal computing – if I can do it, you can do it!

Differently, I see that our journalists, starting from my favorite American author Ernest Hemingway to Norman Mailer to our own Nick Joaquin and now Joel Pablo Salud, are rich in the sense of style but poor in the sense of serving the people.

Bernard of Clairvaux says (thanks! Goodreads, goodreads.com):

There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is Curiosity.
There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others; that is Vanity.
There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is Love.

With AI Journalism, I hope to serve Love.

Beyond the New Journalism, AI Journalism is cultivating the intelligence of the people. They must think for themselves!

The name of the art is new: Alternative Intelligence Journalism, but the nuance of the application of the art is old: 44 years, starting when I became Editor in Chief of those 3 major publications of the Forest Research Institute: monthly newsletter Canopy, quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop, and quarterly color magazine Habitat.

Beyond New Journalism, AI Journalism is pointing out options for action. Such as this one is. For the people, we writers don't have all the answers – but we should ask all the questions!517

Food Festivals In The City – Let Us All Drink To All That!

Images: "Food Festival" from Stratforward (google.com), but which I have elongated upward and narrowed sideward; the other is a direct cut from a Facebook post of my nephew Anthony Hilario Sindayen, dated 25 April 2019, on the occasion of Mnl Beer Festwith the announcement that it was "The Biggest BeerFest in the Philippines." It was held in Manila just last month, 24 April 2019. The son of my sister Brillita and Melanio, he and partner have the Marc & Tony's local craft beer. 

Food and beer festivals are what I am thinking of when I'm reading William Dar's column of today, "Urban Agriculture Should Be Taken Seriously," 30 May 2019, Manila Times, manilatimes.net). He says, "Urban and peri-urban agriculture… is becoming a viable option to help secure the food needs of urban communities."

Urban agriculture. I have not heard of it being practiced in the Philippines, not even anywhere in Metro Manila. Because we always think of wide spaces when we think of agriculture, in hectares of land in the open field. I rather think that is the reason why we have not graduated from food production in the countryside to food production in the city – we think there are no rooms available.

Next, Mr Dar says:

I also chanced upon a (blogpost) titled "Why urban farms and gardens should rule the agriculture scene," dated April 30, 2019, which stated that among the advantages of urban farming are less fuel spent for delivering food to consumers and produce being more healthy for human consumption, like not being treated with chemicals.

That is to say, if we want healthy foods in the city, let us grow food gardens!

From Mr Dar's column along with his FAO notes, I now list these as blessings of the growing of food in the city:

(1) Shorter waiting. He says, "Vegetables are highly recommended since they can be grown over a shorter period." They have a short production cycle of 60 days.

(2) More productive. The FAO says urban gardens can be 15 times more productive than farms in the countryside.

(3) More employment with less space. "The FAO also states that urban agriculture provides employment and incomes for poor women and other disadvantaged groups… citing that a 100-sqm of horticulture can generate one job in production, input supply, marketing and value addition."

(4) More income. The FAO points out that urban gardeners are close to their markets so there is no need for middlemen – a penny saved is a penny earned.

(5) Less waste of space. The FAO says urban gardeners can use unused city spaces. I say that will make the urban landscape greener. And cooler.

To encourage urban gardens, I'm thinking of food festivals in the city sponsored by the city government, or private sector, or both. The greening of the city would be joy for all.

So, I go back to my proposal of the holding of food and beer festivals in the city to celebrate life.
Let's all drink to that!
Make mine beer.517

Here Is The Hidden Enemy Of Rice Farmers In The Philippines!

I'll explain the face and the figure later. 

I have been watching the 4-H Club video by John Ashly M Mata, a member of the 4-H Club NCHS of the Province of Sorsogon, Region V, entitled "Agriculture Is Life."

It's quite good, and it surprises me, a science writer. who loves to surprise people with my own wit or wordom.

I personally came to know about the 4-H Club when it was part of the BS Agriculture major in Ag Edu course that I took at the UP College of Agriculture, now UP Los Baños, in the 1960s – I graduated in 1965. Among other things, I was an officer (President?) of the 4-H Club, and I learned my parliamentary procedures from my club engagements. I haven't heard much of 4-H activities since then; I must say this Club has been neglected in the Philippines.

I'm glad Ted Mendoza sent me a link to this video, because it has opened my eyes on the powers of the video, 4-H Club, and a weakness of agriculture.

The narrator – I didn't get her name – goes on to say:

I discovered a club that focuses on reviving and strengthening agriculture through youth empowerment & development.

4-H Club

This club has existed for 67 years… and is dedicated to empowering youth.

They provide the youth opportunities to learn by doing. Individual. Group. Community.

Another, they instill in the youth the Spirit of Volunteerism. Cooperation. Dignity of labor. Time. talents. Energies. Wisely develops youth potentials. Like this fan-making workshop.

The video ends with these words:

You too can be a part of 4-H Club. You can be a part of bringing innovationand development to our agriculture.

Before all that, "Agriculture is dying," the script says, "not because of drought," but for many reasons (my list).

One, the average age of Filipino farmers is 57-59, nearing retirement age.

Two, the trader buys the farmer's palay at a very low price: P15/kilo. Then he sells at P40/kilo in the market, making a gross of P104,000 from every 4 metric tons. That's 80 cavans at 50 kilos/bag, what an average farmer harvests every season. If there are 100 farmers in a village, the trader makes a gross of P10,400,000 each harvest season. P10 million plus.

100 rice farmers gross P6,000,000.
1 trader grosses P10,400,000.
Life is grossly unfair to our rice farmers!

I am now challenging the 4-H Club all over the Philippines to help level the playing field and give justice to our rice farmers.

There is a way the rice farmers can get the proper rewards for their labors, and it has been proven to succeed in Iloilo. It's called the ZIDOFA Approach – ZIDOFA is the Zarraga Integrated Diversified Organic Farmers Association in the town of Zarraga in Iloilo, chaired by Joby Arandela – via a so-called closed-loop value chain, the ZIDOFA farmers are directly linked to the market and receive their rice price per prior contract, no questions asked.

Is Mr Piñol paying attention to the rice farmers being victimized by traders?517

"No More Garbage!" – Association of Young Environmental Journalists

This 517-word essay is my little contribution to the cause of the Association of Young Environmental Journalists, AYEJ, whom I do not know, but I'm interested in the youth, environment, and journalism. Because? One, I'm not young anymore, being 79 years old, and I'm thinking of legacy. Two, I'm interested in the environment that I know has been abused in the Philippines since at least 50 years ago. Three, journalism in these islands is award-winning but destructive, not constructive. That's why I have this dedicated blog, Journalism for Development, Jode. (See my last essay, "ABS-CBN & Maria Ressa, Duterte Is Not Your Enemy – You Are!" 25 May 2019, Journalism for Development, blogspot.com.)

I saw AYEJ's Facebook post Friday, 24 May 2019, checked their Facebook page, and told the young ones that I did not see any written Vision and Mission – "very important points." They replied that they had already "updated their info in the "About" part, and here is what I saw:

Vision
To be a values-oriented environmental news network that engages people on environmental sustainability for a more livable world.

Mission
To provide increased coverage of environmental stories in print and multimedia through the distribution of stories by empowered and trained young environmental journalists.

Well, that Vision of "a more livable world" is vague, unimpressive – and not memorable. And the Mission of "increased coverage" is limiting and not-so-encouraging – come out with one story a day and that already is "increased coverage," you know what I mean.

What I propose for the AYEJ is what I will now call AYE Journalism – Advocacy for Youth Entrepreneurship Journalism. You write to encourage more young ones to become entrepreneurs – even while conscious of the environment.

Here is entrepreneurship of a basic kind. The image above is from Santosh Digal's 13 February 2010 article, "Young Catholics Of Manila Help Disabled By Recycling Garbage" (Asia News,.asianews.it). Mr Digal writes:

To support two schools for the disabled, a group of 100 young people from the parish of Balayan in Lipa (Batangas) collect the waste from the streets and sells the recyclable material to junk dealers. The purpose of the group is to help young people make sense of their lives, starting from the service to the community.

That is thinking about earning from the environment even as you clean it up.

The title of this essay begins with the words "No More Garbage!" I'm thinking like this:

For the AYE journalists to adopt a barangay in Metro Manila, campaign for garbage (biodegradable) to be collected in one or a few places to be turned into compost or organic fertilizer. Connect to a village in the countryside, and you have an advocacy of 2 entrepreneurships: producing organic fertilizer and growing of organic crops!

And the great many stories can begin from Day 1.

Why is that entrepreneurship? You are making money cleaning the unhealthful city, at the same time reducing the cost of growing crops in the countryside; that's organic agriculture minus chemical agriculture.

That's triple entrepreneurship – you are hitting 3 birds with 1 stone!517

Advantage Rice Farmer – With SRI, Lower Costs & Higher Returns

And why is the ricefield above dry, which means you don't need to have your field drowning in water all the time? The image shows a farm in the Kilombero District in Tanzania with rice transplanted using the System of Rice Intensification, SRI. It accompanies the article written by Devotha Mosha Kilave & Gilead Mlay, "'SRI' In Kilombero Valley: Potential, Misconception And Reality" (25 January 2019, Future Agricultures, future-agricultures.org). 

And what has SRI wrought in Tanzania? Farmers have seen their yields go up from 4 tons/ha to 7 t/ha, almost double. Isn't that great!

So, what more do you want from your rice farming?

Our rice farmers in the Philippines need SRI today. Now. Ora mismo!

That's considering that the most dangerous law ever enacted in the Philippines in terms of the welfare of Filipino farmers is now in effect, RA 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Law, which was signed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on February 2019. It was meant to bring down the price of rice; unfortunately, the income of our rice farmer automatically goes down. That's loving your country at the expense of your countrymen!

Our farmers can fight back by cutting their costs of production very much – and marketing their produce at more competitive and sustainable arrangements. And we have the best technology package to help them do that: SRI.

SRI, is the best thing that ever happened to the planting of rice. Because the farmer spends little, works less, harvests more, and earns much.

Under SRI, there are 5 changes in farming you have to do:

1.   Change seeding rate.

SRI calls for much fewer number of seedlings to grow on the seedbed. Why? It's explained more in #3.

2.   Change age of transplanted seedlings.

You transplant the rice seedlings when they are about 2 weeks old, with 2 leaflets, not later. That will give them time to adjust to the field where they will grow anyway, and the seedlings can better stand transplanting injury & recover.

3.   Change number of seedlings/hill.

You make sure that you plant only 1 seedling in every designated spot. This ensures that the single seedling will give rise to many tillers, which are the ones that bear fruits, that give rise to rice grains. If you plant 2 or more seedlings/hill, those seedlings will compete against each other for food, so there are not many tillers.

4.   Change distance of planting.

SRI calls for square planting, like 20 X 20 cm, not at random as practiced. The square planting gives more than enough room for each seedling to grow to its maximum and give rise to the maximum number of tillers – and therefore maximum yield.

5.   Change irrigation practice.

No need for continuous flooding of the field, as you can see above. SRI calls for alternate wetting and drying, which requires less water and yet produces more grains, because it encourages tillering, which is the secret of a good harvest.

Truly, under SRI the farmer experiences lower costs and higher returns!
What more does he want?517

PhilRice, A Sleeping Giant – Let Me Be The One To Wake It Up!

At the Maligaya, City of Muñoz headquarters, in the image above (from Food Evolution, foodevolution.com.ph): 

PhilRice itself as institution shows its over-emphasis on the rice –while the rice farmer is missing!

PhilRice was born 34 years ago. At its own website, which I accessed today, Monday, 20 May 2019, PhilRice says (philrice.gov.ph):

Since its creation in November 1985, PhilRice has stood by its reason-for-being: to help respond to the needs of the struggling rice farmers and the country's endeavors to attain self-sufficiency in rice.

"To attain self-sufficiency in rice."
Small change!

Unfortunately, after almost 4 decades of PhilRice, the Philippines is not self-sufficient in rice.

And what has PhilRice done "to help respond to the needs of the struggling rice farmers" if I may ask? Not sufficient!

For years, I have been a board member of the Nagkaisa Multi-Purpose Cooperative in my hometown Asingan in Pangasinan, and being the son of a farmer in the village of Sanchez, I should know this:

Our rice farmers are struggling, have been struggling against poverty.

And why is that? PhilRice has not taught them how to become entrepreneurs themselves and earn good money from their honest labors – and sustain their terrestrial productivity as well as the economic growth of their families.

The signing of RA 11203, the Rice Tariffication Law on February this year, opened the floodgates for rice importation into the Philippines. That means the businessmen are now making money from rice, while our rice farmers are making do with whatever they can get from the National Food Authority, NFA, buying their rice harvests. The NFA is helping the farmers, yes, but like PhilRice what it's doing is not sufficient.

I have been trying to wake up PhilRice from its slumber of almost 40 years and open its institutional eyes to the reality that the cost of production of rice in the Philippines is P12/kg; compare that with Thailand's P8/kg, and Vietnam's P6/kg. Hard-headed? Already, within 3 months, I have blogged my own 25 essays on rice tariffication, its expected effects, and what we could do about those (see my first essay on RA 11203, "Rice Tariffication For Businessmen, Price Scarification For Farmers," 29 February 2019, Journalism for Development, blogspot.com).

Yes, PhilRice can do something big right now: Extension. What's the Internet for? Not simply text messages. And the extension must be immediate, massive and laymanized. (In 2004, I submitted to PhilRice my design of a knowledge bank called The Geography Of Knowledge; I still have a digital copy.)

What has a former Philippine Agriculture Secretary to say about it? "William Dar – We Must Help Philippine Agriculture Immediately!" (17 May 2019, Journalism for Development, blogspot.com).

What exactly can PhilRice do immediately? Actually, 15 years ago, Mr Dar himself proposed to PhilRice the creation of a knowledge bank he called Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture, OpAPA. Languishing since then, OpAPA must be revived to address the need of our struggling rice farmers to immediately cut their cost of production in order to survive – literally.

Wake up, PhilRice!517 

The Filipino Dream – Earn Your Degree, Find Work & Live Happily Ever After!

Happily, ANN writes, "Eldest Sibling Didn't Graduate But Was Able To Help Two Siblings Earn Their Degrees" (Author Not Named, not dated, RachFeed, rachfeed.net). It's the story of Ghel Martinez who abandoned her own dream of earning a college degree for herself and worked hard instead to help her sisters graduate – and they did, one with a BS Architecture, and the other with a BS Accountancy, cum laude! Says ANN, "It touched a lot of hearts and she earned praise from netizens who admired her stand in life." 

That is a fact of Filipino life, studying to be hired for a job – is that ideal? (image above from Schudio, schudio.com)

I have just seen a Facebook link by Louie Reynoso to an essay by Andy Uybuco where he challenges that ideal: "What Are Schools For? (Part 1)" (10 May 2019, Free Thinking Me, freethinking.me), and this is his opening paragraph:

There is a myth prevalent in (Filipino) society, and that is in order for children to be successful later on in life, they have to go through elementary, high school, and then college, so they can go get a good job and be financially independent and be productive members of society.

Note: "Be financially independent" and not "Be financially highly successful." Filipinos have such modest dreams, that you hardly hear of a Pinoy dreaming of his first million pesos.

Go to school, get a diploma, and go get a job. Mr Uybuco says:

Many parents today still see it as their ultimate duty to let their kids finish college. They see it as the penultimate achievement of parenthood. They do so because they believe in that myth that college is the key to success in life, that in shepherding their children through college, they have given them the best preparation for adulthood.

That is the myth that has to be shattered – that school is a preparation for life.

I'm not going to wait for Mr Uybuco's Part 2 because I agree with what he has written so far, but I'm pretty sure we differ in our subsequent views on education. We agree on the premises, but I'm sure we do not see eye to eye on the conclusions.

Thus, I say, school is necessary – but it must be a radically different kind of school, one where the student is allowed, nay assisted and encouraged, to discover oneself.

I'm thinking of a different school, one dedicated to cultivating Multiple Intelligences, MI, of which I had been continually writing since 12 years ago (see my essay, "#13: UP!" 12 September 2007, I Love UP? UP Beloved, wordpress.com). There are 9 MI that each of us is heir to, according to Harvard Professor Howard Gardner:

bodily kinesthetic –  athlete, pilot
existential –  philosopher, teacher
interpersonal –  manager, salesman
linguistic –  writer, editor
logical-mathematical –  statistician, debater
musical –  composer, singer
naturalistic –  farmer, forester
personal –  fictionist and
visual –  painter, sculptor.

Only then will each & every student get excited to attend school and grow a love for learning. One must discover one's own smart!517

Rice Plus – Double Your Harvest, Almost

The System of Rice Intensification, SRI, is a simple way of doubling the rice harvest – but PhilRice is notteaching our farmers this one. Why? 

My Internet search gives me ADB blogger Takashi Matsuo who writes, "Producing More With Less Through Rice Intensification Method: Is It A Revolution Or An Illusion?" (28 February 2013 (Asian Development Blog, blogs.adb.org, where the above image comes from)

Why is the Philippine Rice Research Institute, PhilRice, not teaching SRI when farmers can increase their harvest from 20% to 100%?!

SRI Rice, a dedicated center at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, says, "The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) (is) a climate-smart, yield-increasing methodology that is being utilized by more than 10 million smallholder farmers in over 55 countries" (sri.ciifad.cornell.edu).

Sami Grover writes, "How Small-Scale Farmers Are Growing More Rice With Less Water And Fewer Chemicals" (15 April 2013, Mother Nature Network, mnn.com). Indian farmer Sumant Kumar harvested 22.4 metric tons per hectare with SRI where his usual yield was 5 tons. Mr Grover says:

What made Kumar’s yields so notable, however, is that he achieved these results using less than half of the usual applications of nitrogen fertilizer, and only standard applications of phosphorus and potassium.

In the Philippines, members of the Zarraga Integrated Diversified Organic Farmers Association, ZIDOFA, in Iloilo have reported yields up to 9 tons/ha (see my essay, "PH Rice Self-Sufficiency, No With Duterte, Yes With SRI, If You Know What I Mean!" 20 June 2018, Gaia con Gaia, blogspot.com).

So, again, I ask: "Why is not PhilRice promoting SRI?" The only reason I can think of is that PhilRice is not convinced that SRI is as productive as ZIDOFA and other farmers in other countries claim. I understand PhilRice did a study, and the results discouraged the researchers so much.

If PhilRice would look at the above image, comparing left and right rice clumps, it could easily tell the SRI yield (left) would at least be 50% more. That's why I call SRI the Rice Plus.

Mr Matsuo has 2 explanations why SRI has not been widespread: one, "the somewhat loose definition of SRI;" two, the fact that SRI was invented by a priest (Catholic) and advocated by a political science professor (Norman Uphoff). A third excuse for ignoring SRI is that the reports are "generally anecdotal in nature or limited to experimental and demonstration activities" – meaning not the results of large-scale studies. A fourth is "the statistical methods for comparing yield differences." There is also the acceptability by farmers because of "heavy labor requirements for weeding and harvesting."

The naysayers protest too much! Being a graduate with a BS in Agriculture and a self-taught science writer since 1975, or in the last 44 years, I am convinced the explanation for farmers and scientists largely ignoring SRI is the Lazy Juan Mentality:"I'll get to it when I will!"

PhilRice, wake up!
SRI has been adopted by 40 countries, mainly in Asia. Don't tell me the farmers out in the field know better than all the rice scientists of PhilRice combined?!517

William Dar – We Must Help Philippine Agriculture Immediately!

Including those of the 13 May 2019 elections, the numbers are ticking – against Filipino farmers, and they number millions.

In Part 2 of his column titled "SCUs And Unifying R&D Efforts" (16 May 2019, TheManila Times, (manilatimes.net), William Dar reiterates his wish that state colleges & universities, SCUs, become "one of the main pillars of agricultural research and development." Additionally, such R&D efforts "must also be complemented with stronger extension programs, so smallholder farmers and fisherfolk would benefit from (mature) technologies immediately. And I mean, immediately!"

Considering the depredations of rice tariffication on the economy, especially adversely affecting the rice farmers, I share Mr Dar's call for immediate action – nationally, rationally.

Before we can act rationally and immediately, we must follow the advice of Dean Graziosi, an American multimillionaire, "one of the most watched real estate and success trainers of our generation" (deangraziosi.com), and who is quoted in the above image, the link shared on Facebook by Janet Selose, as saying:

A Dream written down with a date becomes a Goal.
A Goal broken down into steps becomes a Plan.
A Plan backed with Action becomes Reality.

If I understand Mr Dar correctly, that can be translated into these:

Dream:
Eliminate poverty.

Goal:
Create more wealth.

Plan:
Team up with the private sector and create more business enterprises using mature aggie technologies.

Action:
Do extension programs that can work immediately!

All that, I concur, should be the product of collaboration among the Bureau of Agricultural Research, BAR; the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic & Natural Resources Research & Development, PCAARRD; the Commission on Higher Education, CHEd; and the SCUs.

So, the BAR, PCAARRD, CHED and the SCUs must all dream the same Dream: Eliminate poverty among the farmers. Everyone must pursue the same Goal: Create more wealth for more farm families. Everyone must follow the same Plan: Team up with the private sector for new & improved business undertakings in agriculture.

And – this is what I like the best – the common Action must be in extension programs that can work as fast as you can click a mouse.

I mean, the extension work must be essentially digital, mouse-driven. We must take advantage of the Internet.

What I have in mind is the drawing of what I called 15 years ago yet:

The Geography of Knowledge, TGK.

TGK was my 2004 design of a digital knowledge bank for the Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture, OpAPA, which was proposed by William Dar when he was still Director General of ICRISAT based in India.

These times call for a Revolution in Thinking!

For the New OpAPA, to update my TGK, I shall now call it the Internet of Options, iO. So, how does the iO work? Consider 2 options:

Option A: Conventional rice planting.
Option B: System of Rice Intensification, SRI:

Through the iO website easily accessible, both Options are offered, in popular language, with explanations where they differ in the methods and results.

Stronger, faster extension.

And the winner is?

SRI is low-cost and high-yielding!
What more do you want?517

Can United State Research Save PH Agriculture? William Dar Hopes So

Even as a farmer's son and an agriculturist, I am the eternal optimist when it comes to PH farming. Above photo is one I took at 6:31 AM on 30 March 2019 at the demo fields on the occasion of the 8th National Rice Technology Forum in Asingan, Pangasinan – I look at both the light and shadow. They are growing hybrid rices, plural. They are growing hopes.

William Dar has just come out with his Manila Times column, "SCUs And Unifying R&D Efforts" Part 1 (09 May 2019, manilatimes.net). The title indirectly points to the lackof united state research & development efforts in the Philippines. Scattered efforts is the way to go if you don't want to go anywhere but there!

The SCUs are the state colleges & universities of the Philippines, all government-funded, and they all carry out R&D activities one way or the other. Which is exactly the problem!

Mr Dar is thinking of, on one hand, the Bureau of Agricultural Research, the BAR, which is under the Department of Agriculture, DA; and on the other hand, the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic & Natural Resources Research & Development, PCAARRD, which is under the Department of Science & Technology, DoST. Just reading those 51 words can confuse you!

"Now, the tough question is," Mr Dar asks, "who takes the (aggie R&D) lead in the country so the efforts and resources SCUs invest for research would have an impact?"

I will now list down 10 of our SCUs I know: Benguet State University, Mariano Marcos State University, Pangasinan State University, Isabela State University, Bulacan State University, Central Luzon State University, Pampanga State Agricultural University, Tarlac State University, Batangas State University, Cavite State University, and UP Los Baños  – there are actually 114 SCUs according to the Commission on Higher Education, as quoted by Merlina Hernando-Malipot (17 May 2017, Manila Bulletin, news.mb.com.ph).

Back to the question of unifying aggie R&D in this country: Who will lead?

Mr Dar is being diplomatic when he says the BAR and PCAARRD "could share leadership in (aggie R&D) by having a shared research agenda and even control public investments in agricultural research to avoid, among others, duplication and conflict in research efforts."

I see the need for a "research roadmap," an agreed-upon common ground plan of action. Then, he says:

In tandem with extension agencies, the two institutions should also take the lead in putting in place innovation, which should be about "invention + commercialization."

You invent and sell. What do you intend to innovate and commercialize? In R&D, Mr Dar says:

This means a new research paradigm of being "demand-driven" should be put in place, with technologies that have commercial potential getting priority funding for research.

He is referring mostly to high-value crops with export potentials like coffee, cacao, banana and pineapple, corn and sugarcane. Remember, "demand-driven" and not driven by the inertia of centuries.

Me, following all that, I want to point out here our national mistake when it comes to aggie business:

Rice is too much demand-driven!517