Fact-checking is now a battle cry in local and international media, especially applied on political statements or claims made in public anywhere in the world.
Legitimate or not, not everyone can be a good fact-checker. I am lucky, as I just found out that I am an excellent fact-checker, because I have a very good background on the subject matter covered in the article: “Small Farms Are Leading The Way Toward Sustainable Agriculture[1]” written by ANN (Author Not Named) that I saw being shared on Facebook today, 04 October 2020 (main image above). To that statement made in the title, my instant reply was, “I don’t think so.” (Sustainable Lives image[2] from Newquayorchard.co.uk)
Fact-check:
(1) Age of article: The article is more than 1 year old, published 18 April 2019. No problem with being up-to-date, hopefully.
(2) Credibility of publication: The article appears in Agriculture Monthly, an online magazine edited by Filipino Magsaysay awardee for journalism Zac Sarian. A-OK that!
(3) Truth of claim as stated in the title itself: I have to verify this as to (a) meaning – what the author ANN meant by “sustainable agriculture” and (b) extent of content to prove the truth in the title: “Small Farms Leading The Way Toward Sustainable Agriculture.”
Now then, the first thing I notice is that the article is very, very short – only 218 words including title! In fact, this entry is written above the first paragraph: “1 MIN READ.” Single-spaced, including title, all that text can be accommodated in only 1 page! The length immediately tells me that the claim in the title is inadequately substantiated by the content – which is not a proper journalistic practice.
An example of a sustainable practice… is planting rice plants in nutrient-rich nurseries to save around 40 percent of water used compared to traditional production methods.
Okay, that’s sustainable.
Other small farms adapted a radical redesign that involves techniques and practices such as those that minimize the disruption of the soil’s structure and biodiversity.
I agree, minimum tillage is sustainable. And so is conserving the biodiversity in the farm.
But sustainability of farming must lead to sustainability of decent lives of farmers & their families! Here, the current National Practice of Agriculture fails.
Today, millions of Filipino farmers live under the threshold of poverty. Because those millions of rice growers have:
(1) problems with capital – e.g., borrowing from usurers;
(2) problems with crops – e.g., insisting on monocultures;
(3) problems with costs – e.g., not being business-minded;
(4) problems with technologies and systems – e.g., overcrowding rice transplants;
(5) problems with chemical inputs – e.g., applying wastefully;
(6) problems with postharvest handling of farm produce – e.g., losing grains in sun-drying;
(7) problems with marketing – e.g., allowing merchants to dictate the price of their produce!
The farming of most Filipino farmers is notsustainable. And that is why they have to follow “The New Thinking for Agriculture” as expounded by Secretary of Agriculture William Dar and contribute to a national effort of inclusive development – in which they are included!@517
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