Skip to main content

Learning From People Power 1986, Leaning To Science Power 2021!

I did not go during the first days of the 1986 show of force called EDSA People Power Revolution. A million bodies gathered at points along Epifanio De Los Santos Avenue (EDSA) after Jaime Cardinal Sin via Radio Veritas called for people to show up in support of the rebel leaders, Vice Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos and Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, who were already holed up at Camp Aguinaldo after declaring their withdrawal of support of President Ferdinand “FM” Marcos, their co-Ilocano.

On Tuesday, 25 February 1986. I showed up at EDSA, and that was when FM and his family decided to fly to Hawaii, in defeat. That is why my private joke is that when FM heard this Ilocano coming, he decided to leave Malacañang!

Differently, I believe the “EDSA Revolution” or “People Power Revolution” was in fact the “People Leaders’ Revolution” – we saw the strength of numbers, not appreciated the power of the leaders to draw such numbers.

Today, I believe we should be harnessing Science Power 2021. At the forefront should be leaders of millions of Filipino farmers who work Philippine soils. Example: The lower image is titled by its source thus: “Empowering Filipino Farmers Using the SARAI Training Toolkit for Rice and Corn[1]” (dated 2017, UPLB.edu.ph). Project SARAI, or Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines, is a project funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) with UP Los Baños’ School of Environmental Science and Management (UPLB SESAM) as the implementing body.

2021 versus 1986, we Filipinos should all be wiser.

Today, in farmers’ fields, armed with Science, the undeclared but more massive Science Power 2021 is being led by Secretary of Agriculture William Dar. He has his New Thinking for Agriculture that is accompanied by “8 Paradigms” as follows:

(1) Modernization;
(2) Industrialization;
(3) Promotion Of Exports;
(4) Consolidation Of Small- And Medium-Sized Farms;
(5) Infrastructure Development;
(6) Higher Budget & Investment;
(7) Legislative Support; and
(8) Roadmap Development.

And under the OneDA Approach, here are the 12 key strategies being invoked at the moment:
1. Farm Clustering/Bayanihan;
2. Province-Led Agriculture And Fisheries Extension System (PAFES);
3. Agri-Industrial Business Corridors (ABCs);
4. Infrastructure Investments;
5. Post-Harvest, Processing Logistics & Marketing Support;
6. Digital Agriculture;
7. Climate Change Adaptation & Mitigation Measures;
8. Mobilization & Empowerment Of Partners To Attain Scale;
9. Global Trade, Export Development & Promotion;
10. Food Safety & Regulations;
11. Ease Of Doing Business & Transport Procurement; and
12. Strategic Communication Support.

We have more than enough agricultural revolution to wage to the end of the decade!

I go back to UPLB SESAM, which developed the following technologies and systems for the farmers initially in Mindoro:

(1)   Automatic Weather Station,

(2)   Unmanned Aerial Vehicle/Drone,

(3)   SARAI Enhanced Agricultural Monitoring System, and

(4)   SARAI Knowledge Portal.

We should all be smarter. As knowledge revolutionaries, with a Science Power 2021 Portal, farmer progress should multiply social benefits!@517


[1]https://sesam.uplb.edu.ph/news/empowering-filipino-farmers-using-the-sarai-training-toolkit-for-rice-and-corn/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

UPLB, Where Has All Your Extension Gone? Gone To Flowers Everyone! When Will They Ever Learn?

What do you mean “Extension”? Here is “Dean Umali’s Rule” as his colleagues remember it [1] : “When a farmer visits your office, stop everything you are doing and give him his due attention, for he is the primary commitment of your being in this institution.” What is known as “UPCA’s Golden Age of Extension” is 1959 to 1969, when Dioscoro L Umali was Dean of UPCA – that is according to Louise Sigrid Antonio et al writing 25 May 2014, “Dioscoro L Umali,” in their blog The Heat Ray Of Archimedes ). I was Freshman at UPCA when he became Dean in 1959; later, I remember UPCA agronomists really busy with national extension projects involving rice and corn. (top image [2]  from Philippine Science Heritage Center, Facebook ) On 20 November 1972, through Presidential Decree 58, the UP System was created, with UPLB as one of the universities in the system. Unfortunately, while the college UPCA grew into the university UP Los Baños, the Extension function grew out of the university until
Post a Comment
Read more

The PhilRice Drum Seeder Looked Good In April 2018 – Where Is It Now?

Above, top image, the Antique ricefield looks very promising in yield. Here is the story as shared on Facebook by PhilRice (my translation in English): TINGNAN! Unang palayan sa Sta. Ana, Tibiao, Antique na natamnan ng 60kg binhi kada ektarya sa pamamagitan ng sabog-tanim. Look! First ricefield in Santa Ana, Tibiao, Antique that was planted with 60 kg seeds per hectare by way of broadcasting. Sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon, natunghayan ng mga magsasaka sa nasabing lugar na kayang-kaya ang 60kg kada ektarya gamit ang seed spreader machine (granular applicator) at certified seeds mula sa RCEF. For the first time ever, farmers in that area witnessed that 60 kg/ha is quite enough using a seed spreader machine (granular applicator) and certified seeds from RCEF. Makikita sa larawan na magaganda ang naging tubo at mabubulas ang mga itinanim na palay. What can be seen in the picture is beautiful growth of and robust rice plants. Ayon sa ulat, namangha ang mga magsasaka rito na kay
Post a Comment
Read more

PH Transformation – Via Ron Amos Jr’s “Cultural Revolution” Or Frank A Hilario’s “Agri-Cultural Revolution”?

Thursday morning, 29 April 2021, at about 0830 hours, I read Ron Amos Jr’s “The Need For A Cultural Revolution” as his “Transit Dialog” Facebook post, all 722 words excluding byline, and I have been moved to respond via this essay – because what Mr Amos is sharing is 100% problem and 0% solution! Mr Amos says: What we need is to reimagine and reinvent the country and ourselves: a cultural revolution that will create not only our identity but also our unified spirit. How we do it is by transitioning from the medieval age of rule by influence, wealth, creed, and power towards a society that willingly balances the individual and the community, freedom and restraint, and privileges and duties. How do we do ALL that? Mr Amos is not saying. The best that he says towards a solution is this, “A Call To Action:” So as not to point fingers, we all start within ourselves – our backyards, bloodlines, and even barkadas. Our leaders need a change of mind from preserving their status quo to
Post a Comment
Read more