Quiet, Giant Revolution At The New PH DA With Hybrid Rice & Entrepreneuship

Not minus, but hybrid rice plus inbred rice.

The above photograph was taken on 25 September 2019 at the Department of Agriculture, DA, main office when the Memorandum of Agreement, MOA, was signed for the implementation of "Masaganang Ani 300" (Bountiful Harvest 300, my translation), the hybrid rice program of the DA, with SL Agritech Corporation CEO Henry Lim Biong (left), and Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship Foundation, Inc-Go Negosyo founder and chairman Joey Concepcion (right) (Lilybeth Ison, 26 September 2019, "Deal On Use Of Hybrid Rice Seeds Inked," PNA, pna.gov.ph). The target is 300 cavans/ha, not 100, not 200.

Agriculture enriched by hybrid rice empowered by entrepreneurship – a quiet, historical revolution like no other in PH history. PH media missed it!

At that time, Manong Willie said:

We are in the (critical) situation now and like any other business out there, we have to compete. (So) we have to (empower) our farmers and mentor them, fund them, and provide them a market for their rice.

Our farmers need all-out help. Meanwhile, for 2020, the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, RCEF, has allotted P3 billion to inbred rice independent of the DA, and so the DA decided to allot the whole regular budget for rice of P2 billion for hybrid rice (Louise Maureen Simeon, 19 August 2019, The Philippine Star, philstar.com). Agriculture Assistant Secretary Andrew Villacorta said, "With the hybrid, our (target of) 20 to 21 million MT is achievable next year."

Seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, farm machineries, rice mills, including assistance to marketing will be there. 

In the next 6 years, the RCEF from the Rice Tariffication Law will finance mechanization, distribution of inbred seeds, skills development, and credit facilities. The farmers will be trained as necessary. That is to say, there would be no excuses for low productivity, low competitiveness, and low incomes. 

The presence of SL Agritech CEO Henry Lim signifies that the DA welcomes being partner with the private sector; while the presence of Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion signifies that the DA recognizes the need to train the farmers to always think like businessmen, not mendicants. 

Mr Concepcion said:

Kaya ngayon, kailangan ang tulong ng private sector (Therefore now, the help of the private sector is necessary), together with the government to bring about a massive mentorship program on how we can enable our farmers to improve productivity.

With adequate financial assistance and training, not to mention mentoring, Mr Concepcion hopes Masaganang Ani 300 will encourage farmers to look at new technologies in the use of inbred and hybrid seeds. 

Change has to happen. If we allow our farmers to continue to be unproductive, continue with their current (practices) in rice, we're not helping the farmers. We're actually giving them (dole outs). So this transformation has to happen.

During the MOA signing mentioned above, Manong Willie said "Masaganang Ani 300 is a welcome initiative." In other words, the initiative came from outside DA. That signifies the new DA is open to new doors of opportunities to serve the poor Filipino farmers.@517

Greta Thunberg Is No Genius, Spectator USA Says – This Genius Says She Is!

Slavoj Zizek is a Slovenian philosopher (Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org); an author at Spectator USA, he has just written the article "Greta Thunberg Is No Genius – She's An Apostle" (04 October 2019, spectator.us). And I, apostle of Greta, object!

Here is Mr Zizek's very first paragraph:

Greta Thunberg has changed in recent months; no longer the naive and innocent girl saying that the emperor is naked, now a smiling-aggressive sharp-tongued demon. But her message remains the same, simple and repeated.

What same, simple and repeated message? Mr Zizek, you cannot repeat it, so I know you have notbeen paying attention!

Look here for the "same, simple and repeated" message of Greta:

My message is that we'll be watching you. This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you!

You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.

And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!

For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you're doing enough, when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight.

You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil. And that I refuse to believe.

That is not a sharp-tongued demon, Mr Zizek; that is a genius speaking!

According to your Mr Kierkegaard's differentiation, the genius is "the individual who is able to express/articulate 'that which is in him more than himself,' his spiritual substance," while the apostleis merely "bearing witness to an impersonal truth that transcends him."

You ignore the facts, Mr Zizek!

Greta's Truth is not impersonal and does not transcend her.
And for a girl of 16, with English as her second language, what brilliance!
And what audacity!

"We children are doing this to wake the adults up."

Not since Greta Thunberg has anyone said it like that. And direct to the faces of adults all over the world.

You've got it all wrong, Mr Zizek. You say:

She is proposing scientific data as the base (that) should compel us (to) elaborate a new emancipatory project and act upon it.

No, Mr Zizek, Greta is notrepeating the science. Everyone knows that. What she keeps repeating is this simple, stark, smart message:

You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.

She speaks only for the children – we adults have failed ourselves.
Anyone who does not understand that is part of the problem!@517

Emperors Of Climate Cringe – Putin, Trudeau, Trump & Other World Leaders, As Seen Through The Eyes Of Greta Thunberg

Today, like all the world leaders, male & female, Putin, Trudeau & Trump think like they are kings – rulers of their individual kingdoms. But they are all emperors without clothes, and should be ashamed to lead their countries. (original image from the-three-kings.com)

At the UN climate change conference in New York on Monday, 23 September 2019, young Swedish climate change activator Greta Thunberg warned them (from full transcript of speech, courtesy of Asia Nikkei, asia.nikkei.com):

My message is that we'll be watching you. This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you!

Millions of the young ones will be watching from them all over the world. Never has a message like this been delivered at any climate change conference – a challenge from below.

Representing the youth representing a new force, Greta says:

You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.

Emperors of Climate Cringe have stolen millions of dreams and childhoods.

And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!

The Emperors of Climate Cringe are actually clothed with power but they use it for personal or provincial gains, not popular advances.

For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you're doing enough, when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight.

The Emperors of Climate Cringe have no mirrors, so they cannot see themselves when they are lying.

Greta almost called them liars to their faces:

You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil. And that I refuse to believe.

Greta looks at the Emperors of Climate Cringe and says that their collective promise is not enough:

The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in 10 years only gives us a 50% chance of staying below 1.5°C and the risk of setting off irreversible chain reactions beyond human control.

A 50% chance of escaping the irreversible decline of the world is suicide.

Greta puts it mildly:

A 50% risk is simply not acceptable to us -- we who have to live with the consequences.

And then Greta puts it bluntly:

You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you!

Greta, may the force be with you!@517

Why Is A PH Delegation In Russia? There Is Much To Learn Even In Agriculture!

Secretary of Agriculture William Dar/Manong Willie is part of the PRRD delegation to Russia this time. Frankly, I did not think we could learn anything new in agriculture by visiting Russia – and so I googled, and I was surprised! 

I did not know and I wanted to satisfy my scholarly curiosity, and now I have just found out that we have much to learn from Russia.

1st Russian surprise:
In only 5 years, Russia became #1 exporter of grains.

Neil Buckley says, "Agriculture has overtaken arms sales to become Russia’s second-biggest export sector" (19 April 2017, "Russian Agriculture Sector Flourishes Amid Sanctions," Financial Times, ft.com). This is an interesting turnaround that the Philippines can learn much from, starting when the EU and the US "imposed sanctions on parts of Russia’s economy following military intervention in Ukraine 2014." The turnaround has been achieved in only 5 years! Last year, Russia became the world's biggest exporter of grains at more than 34m tonnes. Mr Buckley says:

2nd Russian surprise:
The (turnaround) is striking since… 15 years ago… Russia was a net importer.

How do you explain that?! Mr Buckley says:

The success goes beyond grain. Russia has fully substituted imports with domestic production of pork and chicken. It has become a top producer of sugar beet; greenhouse vegetable production last year was up 30 per cent on the year before.

So, Zernograd says, "Enterprising farmers have overcome the legacy of Soviet collectivization" (01 December 2018, The Economist, economist.com, where the image above comes from). When brothers Yuri and Aleksandr Peretyatko began grain farming in the early 1990s, "we didn’t even have bicycles," says Aleksandr. Now they ride in new white Lexus suvs, their children in Range Rovers. The Peretyatko brothers embody the optimism in Russian agriculture. In 2016, Russia became the world's leading exporter of wheat for the first time. "Grain is our second oil," Aleksandr Tkachev, Agriculture Minister, said.

3rd Russian surprise:
Enterprising farmers helped overcome limiting legacy.

The Lexus-riding brothers Peretyatkos had to travel to Europe to study best practices! They did not know what private ownership meant, and how people worked for themselves!

4th Russian surprise:
Government investments and support must be there.

Yes, the Russian government remained on top of the situation. Zernograd says:

Over the ensuing decades, investments in machinery, land and supplies accumulated; the government made agriculture a national priority, offering subsidies and support

The Philippine delegation will probably attend the international exhibition "Golden Autumn" in Moscow, which has been held every October since 2000. Ambassador Carlos D Sorreta said after their 2017 visit ("PHL Examines Russian Agricultural Advances At Golden Autumn In Moscow," 13 October 2017,  Department of Foreign Affairs, dfa.gov.ph):

Russia is a leader in agriculture and agribusiness, as well as a top manufacturer of agricultural equipment. In recent years, Russia has devoted even more resources and attention to reinforcing its agricultural sector. There is much that we can learn…

That is why we are in Russia!

In the end, the government must be Agriculture's Patron.@517

PH Coconut Industry Is A Sleeping Giant, Also A Slipping Giant, And It Cannot Help Itself Alone

What you see above indicates either a pile of pesos already collected, or a pile of promise already deteriorating (image from CNN, edition.cnn.com). 

"PH Coconut Industry A 'Sleeping Giant'" (2nd of 2 parts) is today's Secretary of Agriculture William Dar's Manila Times column (03 October 2019, manilatimes.net). Yes, he looks at the coconut industry as "a sleeping giant." In 1893, when Napoleon Bonaparte was asked, he said, "China? There lies a sleeping giant. Let him sleep! For when he wakes he will move the world" (libquotes.com). Yes, Sir! PH has a sleeping giant!

Yes, for our coconut farmers, the DA's common big goals are Masanang Ani at Malaki ang Kita (Bounteous Harvests and Plenteous Earnings, my translation).

But we have a problem with our PH giant – it has always been under the control of the local coconut cartel, but today it is much more so. On 17 September 2018, Maya M Padillo said, "Davao Oriental Asks PCA To Help Arrest Decline In Coconut, Copra," BusinessWorld, bworldonline.com) – there had been a 50% drop in prices of copra (from P40, now only P20), and whole nut (from P10, now only P5)!

The PCA is directly under the DA, no problem. To defend the coco farmers from the depredation of those engaged in the marketing chain only for their own good, it will need more than the help of the PCA. It will need the cooperation of the LGUs in place, coco-based businesses, non-government organizations, as well as the active participation of the coco farmers themselves.

These modern stories of PH rice and coconut reflect only the need for government to step in and help the farmers strengthen their coco cooperatives to be able to help their members at any time.

At the moment the DA, under the Dynamic, Active & Reactive, DAR, leadership of Secretary of Agriculture William Dar, is looking into how the DA can help shape up coco initiatives such as on increasing the yield per coconut tree, multiple cropping to increase the income from the same area, and increasing the variety of products from the same coconut. Business opportunities do not come unbidden until we look for them.

I mean, the PH coconut industry needs more help than it has learned how to give itself!

For instance, there is yet an untapped PH market for coconut, Mr Dar points out. The "Biofuels Act of 2006" provides for the increase in the coco methyl ester blend of diesel sold locally, "which could result in billions of pesos in economic benefits for the industry."

The average yield of a PH coconut tree remains between 40 and 50 nuts per tree annually – that is 5 times below the 200 nuts recorded in India and 6 times below the 300 nuts in Brazil. To wake up the giant in the coconut tree, it will have to be replaced by a hybrid one, and the cultivation augmented by good agricultural practices, GAPs. Good breeding must always be accompanied by the caring of good hands!@517

Understanding The Real Safety Net For Rice Farmers, BusinessWorld

Calixto V Chikiamco has written a long essay on "The Real Safety Net For Rice Farmers" (29 September 2019, BusinessWorld, bworldonline.com), 1,500 plus words – but I think it is notlong enough. Mr C fails to consider that farmers are not looking for what columnists are looking for, for them; for instance, they are looking for what Mr C fails to mention Sustainability.

"1. A number of rice farmers will never be competitive."

Mr C does not begin with a desired future for the farmers but the problematic present, what is there. The present is immovable.

"2. The government is incompetent when it comes to making rice farmers productive, especially in the near-term."

Mr C has studied past Secretaries of Agriculture, maybe, but not this one. And yes, I am sure, Mr C is one of the hundreds of experts who are in paradigms lost! I mean he does not know how many paradigms William Dar brought into the office to assist him intellectually as Secretary. (I have written a literal-literary 269-page book of 79 short essays entitled, in Paradigms Lost, in Paradigms Regained; anyone can email me for a free copy: frankahilario@gmail.com.) Mr C is in paradigms lost now; he can be saved in paradigms regained.

"The government is incompetent…" Such unkind words! For instance, did Mr C know that when William Dar was Secretary of Agriculture before, he recorded the highest aggie growth in Philippine history?

9.6%! Mr C, this government is competent!

"3. Increasing or even doubling the tariff rates is not a safety net."

"4. It’s not acceptable, either, to go back to a status quo ante."

I will skip 3. and 4. now but I will come back later.

"5. There is no denying that a number of rice farmers will lose their present livelihood."

If so, the government will not twiddle its thumb or look the other way.

"6. Therefore, a number of rice farmers cannot remain rice farmers forever."

That does not matter, Mr C. In fact, that should be part of The Big Plan!

"7. If the government cannot provide the safety net, who will?"

Now it's time to tackle what Mr C thinks is the safety net and what I think it should be.

Mr C says, "The real safety net is to get agribusiness farms to expand and absorb the displaced farmers."

No Sir! The real and the best safety net for the farmers is for each farm family to become:

1. Productive

2. Competitive.

3. Profitable.

4. Resilient.

5. Sustainable.

And no, I am sure Mr C has not studied those 5 that William Dar calls The Five Way Test ("There Is Hope For PH Agriculture – Last of 3 Parts" (22 August 2019, manilatimes.net). He was already Secretary when he wrote that Manila Times column.

Tariff rates and whatever are not so much a problem when we have the real thing:

The real safety net for rice farmers is to become what William Dar knows they want to be! They just need someone to articulate for them.@517

CRISPR & The Cavendish Banana – Quite A Few Lessons For Both Journalists' & Researchers From The Exact Same Story Line!

Those are the discoveries of the year 2019 for me!

I am writing, prompted, not inspired, by Amy Maxmen's story, "CRISPR Might Be The Banana's Only Hope Against A Deadly Fungus" (24 September 2019, Nature, nature.com). Ms Amy begins her story:

The race to engineer the next-generation banana is on. The Colombian government confirmed last month that a banana-killing fungus has invaded the Americas.

That is 2 times incorrect! One, the genetic engineering for the NextGen Banana started 22 years ago – the NextGen is too slow! Two, the Colombian government announcement is delayed by 26 years, according to my list:

2003, "Defenseless banana 'will be extinct in 10 years'" – Robert Uhlig (16 January, TheTelegraph, telegraph.co.uk).

2005, "... on a crash course toward extinction" -- Dan Koeppel (19 June, Popular Science, popsci.com).

2009, "Bananapocalypse" – Plenty Magazine (Mother Nature Network, mnn.com).

2013, "Fungus threatens top banana" -- Declan Butler (11 December, Nature, nature.com).

2014, "Welcome To The Bananapocalypse" -- Michael Zelenko (08 March, VICE, vice.com).

2015,- "Bye, Bye, Bananas" -- Roberto A Ferdman (04 December, Washington Post, washingtonpost.com).

2016, "Worldwide Banana Crisis Sparked By Panama Disease" -- Ada Carr (15 July, The Weather Channel, weather.com)

For both journalists and researchers, good research is imperative.

How have scientists been so wrong about the Panama disease!

I myself wrote about the rumored end of the banana almost 2 years ago: "Science & The End Of The Banana. Part 1, The GMO Solution" (25 October 2017, Gaia Con Gaia, gaiavsgaia.blogspot.com),

Ms Amy says, "Scientists are using a mix of approaches to save the banana." I wonder why her report does not mention PH research by Agustin Molina and his team in Mindanao where in fact in 2014, banana exports peaked (31 October , "Science & The End Of The Banana. Part 2, The Banana Boat Song. Day-O!" Gaia Con Gaia, 4.bp.blogspot.com).

In the last 2 years, 2 banana armies have been fighting for supremacy (06 November 2017, "Science & The End Of The Banana. Part 3, Understanding The Banana Afocalypse," Gaia Con Gaia, gaiavsgaia.blogspot.com), to produce a Panama disease-resistant cultivar:

GMO Banana Army – via genetic modification.They need much more funds and a lot more time!

Nature's Banana Army– via natural selection, from the wild. Same motive, different methods. Mr Molina's team has already found that golden cultivar; they have assigned a code name: "218."

Nature works best!

So where lies the difference? In the manner of producing the disease-resistant banana cultivar: one group tried to modify the genes of the banana, dreaming of a genetically modified outstanding or GMO banana, which requires decades of experimental work; another group tried to find a Mother Nature-proven resistant banana individual, which requires only a few years of field work; this is our Nature's Banana Army.

"CRISPR might be the banana's only hope against a deadly fungus," says Ms Amy. She is completely wrong!

That hope is not CRISPR. Come visit the Philippines, Ms Amy.
We will be glad to introduce to you "218"!@517