Beauty & Brains

PH’s Department of Science & Technology, DoST, at least 50 years old, starting with President Ferdinand “FM” Marcos’ National Science Development Board, NSDB. Now, in terms of NSDB/DoST science stories for people to learn more, I have not learned of any! And I am a science journalist who was not born yesterday. So: In science stories, history repeat itself by not repeating itself. I google for “philippines dost mandate” (without the double quotes) and I get a whole page that says, “Websites sometimes break. Please wait while we put it back together.” That’s just what the doctor ordered! Five minutes later… same story. Knowledge Unavailable: That is the inadvertent metaphor for me to describe DoST in relation to the science needs of us Filipinos in these helter-skelter, topsy-turvy, upside-down coronavirus lockdown times. Here comes Director Richard P Burgos of DoST’s Science and Technology Information Institute, DoST-STII, saying (Allan Mauro V Marfal, 10 August 2020, “Scienc...

Yes, the entire UP System from UP Baguio to UP Mindanao has been asleep in these 6 months of coronavirus lockdown – The Silence of the Lame? This UP Los Baños alumnus is saying, “UP is the University of Protests – why is not the System protesting against Ignorance and trying to Fill in the Gaps?” The Silence of the Limp? UP has not been actively involved in the ups and downs of PH Agriculture and the travails of farmers as the coronavirus “solution” locked UP almost everything. The Silence of the Lamb? What could have the UP System done, what can it do to help PH Agriculture from Aparri to Jolo? Much, even right now. There is: Unlimited UP digital intellectual resources! Virtual: Demo farms. Trainings. Seminars. Brochures. Lectures. Publications, even hundreds of them. Think of all those as digital in existence, not physical – although they are based on the physical. Also (examples): UP Baguio – Show agroforestry, with pines as Mother Trees to the farm and garden crops....

Unintended, I am sure, but that’s an insult to both the borrower as well as the bank. From Facebook sharing by Nestor Maniebo Pestelos, a writing friend of college days 60 years ago, an article by another common friend, Magsaysay Award-winning and life-long successful aggie journalist Zac Sarian: “Advice To Neophytes: Don’t Borrow From The Bank [1] !” ( 14 August 2020, zacsarian.com ): I am shocked. Zac has been used to high attention-getting titles all these years – but times have drastically changed. Zac has to mind more the pandemic lockdown and what, among other things, it has been doing to our farmers. And, most of all, what Secretary of Agriculture William Dar has brought to Philippine Agriculture in the matter of inclusive development, what he calls “The New Thinking for Agriculture.” All that includes re-educating the Filipino farmer from his helpless, business-mindless ways. Thus, as an aggie journalist self-crusading for new thinking for agriculture, I am shocked because...

  “Sustainability of indigenous knowledge, a winning combination” – I have seen this on Facebook so many times and a science communicator, I can’t help but comment on it now. This is communication that is mis communicating! Above, look at those 7 words again from Sustainable Research Innovation, SRI: “Sustainability of indigenous knowledge, a winning combination” First: What in the world would make “a winning combination” with indigenous knowledge for sustainability? Second: How exactly do you combine to make them/it a winner? Such constructions of concepts are the responsibilities of the Copywriter, Editor, and Leader of the SRI Sustainability Experts. In this case, they don’t know enough what they are saying?! Otherwise, I take it as an insult to me, a reader. (image of “I can explain it to you” from RedBubbl e [1] ) It doesn’t matter who Mazzeillla Maniwavie, Robyn Ames, Cathy Robinson, Oliver Costello and Sara Philipps are – it’s the very careless statement that seems t...

Above, the caption that Vince Tejada accompanies his image shared on Facebook is this (slightly edited): It’s time to harvest mature nuts from my 60 coco trees and dry them for copra purposes. At 20 pesos per kg, I could hardly stretch for the wages of my landless farmhands. How I wish our government could do something to increase the buying price fair enough. In those 48 words, Mr Tejada has captured much of the essentials of what ails Philippine Agriculture today – actually, what have been ailing this country’s farms and farming families: Persistent Poverty. It is very convenient to point to low prices of farm produce as the reason why farmers remain poor despite being industrious and persistent. All these we can glean from Mr Tejada’s Coconut Complaint: (1)    His harvests of coconuts are for making copra only, no more. (2)    He looks at his farm only as a coconut grove of 60 trees. (3)    His farmhands rely only on the wages he gives them, seemi...

Today, when more farmers want to learn more, you better teach much better – and more intelligently! Learning agriculture can now  become more exciting – if ATI  becomes more excited. News: In faraway Visayas, “Governor Asks ATI To Accredit More Agricultural Learning Sites In Boho l [1] ” r eports Minerva Newman (07 August 2020,  Manila Bulletin ): Bohol Governor Arthur Yap (has) asked the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI-7) to support farming learning centers and accredit more agricultural learning sites in his bid to push and boost food security through massive production, especially now that the COVID-19 crisis and home quarantine (have) forced more families to focus on backyard farming/agriculture for (their) own food (supplies). “Massive production” – more food grown by more families for themselves. Mr Yap, a former PH Secretary of Agriculture, sees the need for much more food produced locally. I wonder what other PH governors are thinking during these lockdown ti...

Today, when more farmers want to learn more, you better teach much better – and more intelligently! Learning agriculture can now become more exciting – if ATI becomes more excited. News: In faraway Visayas, “Governor Asks ATI To Accredit More Agricultural Learning Sites In Bohol [1] ” reports Minerva Newman (07 August 2020, Manila Bulletin ): Bohol Governor Arthur Yap (has) asked the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI-7) to support farming learning centers and accredit more agricultural learning sites in his bid to push and boost food security through massive production, especially now that the COVID-19 crisis and home quarantine (have) forced more families to focus on backyard farming/agriculture for (their) own food (supplies). “Massive production” – more food grown by more families for themselves. Mr Yap, a former PH Secretary of Agriculture, sees the need for much more food produced locally. I wonder what other PH governors are thinking during these lockdown times. He needs ...