Skip to main content

The Woman’s Role In The Developing History Of PH Agriculture?

How should we measure the Filipino woman’s role in PH Agriculture? In one word, significant. But if you isolate it, not!

From Cagayan De Oro City, JC Anito from the Department of Agriculture (DA) RFO X reports: “DA NorMin Takes Part In 2021 Nat'l. Women's Month Celebration” (Facebook sharing): “(DA-10) took part in the Serbisyo Para Kay Juana National Convergencein celebration of the Women’s Month in Cagayan de Oro City.” (“Juana” is any PH female, from male counterpart “Juan.”) On Thursday, 25 March, DA X distributed 1,020 packets of 5-in-1 assorted vegetable seeds totaling P132,600 in three variants of culinary purposes: pinakbet, chopsuey, and sinigang, to the participants. JC did not include the names of vegetables included in each packet, but it’s the giving that matters, not the gift.

Receivers of the freeseeds included women’s organizations, farmers, solo parents, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, micro, small & medium enterprises, indigenous people, city scholarship parents, and community drug rehabilitation program recipients. Quite a mix of women there!

National, yes. JC says that, in her speech, DA Assistant Secretary for Agribusiness & Marketing, Kristine Y Evangelista “emphasized the significance of women in nation-building, particularly their potential contribution in boosting the agri-fishery sector.”

Note how Ms Kristine puts it – “contribution in boosting” – women are participating in a common endeavorwith men. So, to me, instead of a display of gender equality; rather, it is a display of the sense of community:

The growth of farming families is notabout gender equality – it is whether roles are being played appropriately for the good of all, especially the family.

JC quotes Brigida Ossa Cadiz, President of the Solo Parents Association of Barangay Iponan saying more or less (original in Visayan):

We are very thankful to DA for including us solo parents to receive assistance and for also recognizing us women as part of the society, that despite our vulnerabilities we can use this (intervention) as a tool in providing for our respective families to the best of our ability. (JC’s translation)

JC says, “The activity served as an avenue to tackle issues affecting women which (call) for tangible actions towards gender equality.” Sorry, but to me, gender equality is not the design of God – as long as the females and males live in the same society, the call is for gender responsibility. And no, the gender responsibilities are not equal – they are parallel and complementary.

JC explains the why of the occasion: “The convergence initiative is in support (of the) whole-of-government approach thru the Office of Senator Lawrence Go, together with partner cluster agencies” such as the Department of Social Welfare & Development (DSWD), Department of Health (DoH), Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), Department of Labor & Employment (DoLE), and Technical Education & Skills Development Authority (TESDA). Exactly! I say. DSWD, DoH, DTI, DoLE, TESDA –

Yes! Even as we have the “whole-of-government” we must have what I call the “whole-of-family” approach, husbands and wives and solo parents included.

I say, “Let us celebrate “The Whole-of-Family Approach to PH Agriculture!”@517

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