Skip to main content

In PH, What Else The PNA Must Do – Having Neglected Aggie Journalism!?

Where have journalists employed by government such as by the Philippine News Agency (PNA) been hiding all these months? I see the absence of PNA stories on PH Agriculture today, whose troubles of many years have been exacerbated by the Covid 19 lockdown. All have been adversely affected: individuals and institutions, corporations and crops. And the PNA has not been paying much attention!?

I don’t know since when did PNA start ignoring PH Agriculture. My attention is on the crops, because I am a farmer’s son as well as a journalist. And so I ask: “Where have all the government journalists gone?” About agriculture, I only come across the short items from the Communications Group of the Department of Agriculture (DA), hardly from the Philippine Information Agency, and none from the PNA.

Checking the website at https://www.pna.gov.ph, I find that the PNA has Business, Healthand Sports as major news categories, but neither Agriculture nor Education!

I am an agriculturist and a teacher, Civil Service Professional Level, so the PNA disappoints me twice. And what about the millions of Filipino farmers who produce the foods for the country, not to mention the millions who consume such foods?

Says the PNA in its website:

The Philippine News Agency is a web-based newswire service of the Philippine government under the supervision of the News and Information Bureau (NIB) of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

Therefore, since I doubt that the PCO knows about the lack of full national coverage of the PNA, someone must inform President Rodrigo Duterte that the PCO is neglecting Agriculture, the biggest part of the citizenry of his country!

The biggest part of the citizenry of the Philippines has 5.56 million farms/holdings covering 7.19 M ha[1] (2012 data, PSA.gov.ph). With an average of 6 members of a family to a farm, that’s 33 million people whose interests are being neglected by the PNA.

Wake up, PNA! Asa ka pa! You should be serving the farmers, not only the businessmen and the athletes.

The PNA is not the only one guilty of neglecting to engage in a continuing communication of news and views on Philippine agriculture. The old and very private Philippine Agricultural Journalists (PAJ), founded more than 40 years ago, has not been continuously and conspicuously coming out with news and views on what is happening to the farming families all over the country, what is happening to the food supply and what is the market situation for each farm produce, etc. Wake up, PAJ! Isa ka pa!

The PNA celebrated its founding on 01 March – what is there to celebrate for?! Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlossays, “Amid Pandemic, PNA Evolves Into ‘Healers, Hope Givers’[2],” PNA.gov.ph). Ms Ruth quotes NIB Director Virginia Arcilla-Agtay as saying, “Beyond our primary role as government media, we are healers and hope givers by being purposeful storytellers beyond basic reportage.”

Yes, Ms Virginia, but when will the PNA start reportage on Agriculture? We Filipinos cannot heal without food; our farmers do not have hope without income.@517


[1]https://psa.gov.ph/tags/agriculture-and-fisheries

[2]https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1132056?fbclid=IwAR3HHyZZGOf7_u6GX_yNjH8v-QZpKakZCNLZehqJXs_R3V_TGKPht0t1wHg

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Historical PH 1st Holy Mass: Mazaua Or Limasawa? Fr Amalla Vs Maria Serena Diokno Vs Ambeth Ocampo – And The Priest Is Right!

We Filipinos celebrate 500 years of Christianity today Wednesday, 31 March 2021, Christianity brought to pagans by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailing the seas for Spain. The historical question is: Where was the first Holy Mass celebrated: “Limasawa” (in Leyte) or “Mazaua” (in Butuan)? Catholic priest Fr Joesilo C Amalla has just published the book (above), An Island They Called Mazaua, that argues the island of “Mazaua” in Butuan is the “true site of first Holy Mass in the Philippines [1] ”  and not “Limasawa” in Leyte (ANN, 07 January 2021, Manila Times ). The declaration and discussion are made by Butuan-based Fr Amalla in his 644-page book. Among other things, he writes: The truth is that the prevailing state- and church-affirmation and multiple reaffirmations of the island of Limasawa as the site of that first Holy Mass have no factual, historical and geographic (bases) whatsoever nor any shred of evidentiary support from cartographic studies, navigational info...
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

Davao De Oro Rubber Has Elasticity And Should Be Able To Bounce Back!

  The caption above says, “DA-PRDP turned over the Village Level Rubber Processing and Marketing Enterprise to SARPHIL CARP Beneficiaries Multipurpose Cooperative (SACARBECOM) in Monkayo, Davao De Oro last 11 March 2021.” Rubber being produced in the Philippines, a non-traditional commercial product. We are competing with Indonesia and Malaysia? From the story by Joy M Montecalvo , the caption needs explanation. Not the enterprise itself, the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) turned over a village-type rubber sheet facility that can process 192,000 liters of latex yearly. Miss Joy says, “The 124 members of SACARBEMCO will now be able to produce 55 to 60 MT of rubber sheet per annum and increase their income to at least 5 percent per year or a total of 30 percent in six years.” Hopefully, I say. (The SACARBEMCO is the SARPHIL CARP Beneficiaries Multi-purpose Cooperative based in Monkayo, Davao De Oro.) Miss Joy says in the headlin...
Post a Comment
Read more