Marlen V Ronquillo’s Old And William Dar’s New Thinking For Agriculture

It occurs to me early this morning, 0600 hours Tuesday, 30 June 2020 in Manila, that I am not at rest yet with Marlen V Ronquillo’s Manila Times column of 28 June 2020, “In A Prostrate Sector, Vileness Does Not Rest” after I came out with my earlier essay, “Marlen V Ronquillo – I Agree With You, “In A Prostrate Sector, Vileness Does Not Rest[1]” (29 June 2020, THiNK Journalism, Digital). I have something much more to say about Mr Ronquillo’s claim below:

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is so engrossed with propaganda and image building that it totally jettisoned its legal and moral mandate to help the small farmers.

Should be written “image-building” – hyphen necessary. But that is minor. The major point is this:

Yes, Mr Ronquillo, I can tell you that the DA under Secretary of Agriculture William Dar/Manong Willie has been “so engrossed with propaganda and image-building” for Philippine agriculture!

“Propaganda,” says my favorite American Heritage Dictionary, means “The systematic propagation of a doctrine or cause or of information reflecting the views and interests of those advocating such a doctrine or cause[2].”

Yes, Manong Willie calls it “The New Thinking For Agriculture” and I have been writing much about it (try this: “Revolutionizing PH Agriculture And How We Write About It – Manong Willie & Frank H[3]”). When he was appointed on 05 August 2019 as Secretary, Manong Willie already had with him ready “The New Thinking for Agriculture” that must emanate from considering interrelationships of the “8 Paradigms” as he called them (my listing):

(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.
(8) Roadmap development.

Now you know why Secretary of Agriculture William Dollente Dar has been not only all over the place but all over the country!

In fact, I feel that the propaganda has barely started. It will take us up to 2022 to fully explain and exemplify what all those 8 paradigms mean and must signify!

I repeat what you said earlier in your column:

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is so engrossed with propaganda and (image-building) that it totally jettisoned its legal and moral mandate to help the small farmers.

Like I said, Mr Ronquillo, you have not been reading. After all the image of those unhappy years of PH agriculture, we need a new image of farmers now smiling widely because they know that the DA is helping them with much government funds allocated for their welfare, especially during this pandemic lockdown, where everything is abnormal.

I repeat, Mr Ronquillo, how on earth can one explain in just one sitting and one place all those 8 paradigms in Manong Willie’s mind? Aside from the DA, other government agencies must know and understand all those paradigms so that they can relate to any of them properly – must also be involved are local government units and the private sector.

Must also involve? Columnists like you!@517


[1]https://ithinkjournalism.blogspot.com/2020/06/marlen-v-ronquillo-i-agree-with-you-in.html
[2]https://www.thefreedictionary.com/propaganda
[3]https://ithinkjournalism.blogspot.com/2020/06/revolutionizing-ph-agriculture-and-how.html


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Knorr Of Big Business Unilever Thinks Big Business Regenerative Agriculture – My Tiny Country PH Also Should!

Image
“Knorr’s plan for 50 regenerative agriculture projects is predicted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water use by an estimated 30% while improving biodiversity, soil health and livelihoods.” That is regenerative agriculture (RA) news by Julian Cirineo (05 Nov 2021, “Unilever Wants To Rethink How Farms Work To Secure Food And Resources For The Future,” Rappler , rappler.com ). Note: 50 (not 5 only) RA projects to improve greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and water use by 30% – plus improving biodiversity, soil health and livelihoods. Note the last 7 words in the above paragraph. How can RA improve biodiversity? RA requires that the farmer practices multiculture (a few or many crops grown at the same time in the same place), where monoculture (such as rice-only or corn-only) is the practice – the biodiversity improves crop health because of the ensuing balance of nature, such as some organisms feed on other organisms that would otherwise become pests or cause diseases. RA is your
Read more

In Looking At The Crown Of Thorns, I Found The Clowns

Image
We could use a surprise sense of humor!  Yes, especially on the wide problematic fields of Agriculture. There was this news that some high PH government officials wanted to probe Vice President Leni Robredo for “competing against” PH agencies in providing much-needed assistances during this coronavirus lockdown, and Marigs Laririt shared a picture-story on Facebook quoting Ms Leni as saying, “I didn’t know it was competition. I didn’t see any competitors!” Ms Marigs says, “Ay, parang friends ko kung sumagot si Mam.” (Ay, with Mam, it’s just like my friends answering back.) That is a two-handed backslap, and you can imagine the lady laughing! She is the humor-monger; they are the clowns. Today is Friday, 03 April 2020 and in one account ( Wikipedia ), Friday the 3 rd of April was crucifixion of Jesus and his crowning of thorns [1] . (images: Crown of Thorns [2]  from St Anthony Messenger , 1 st clown [3]  from The Guardian , 2 nd clown [4]  from Shutterstock ) About the living clowns I
Read more

“Natural Farming” – Aggie Journalists, We Must Be Careful With The Terms We Use!

Image
Look at the contrasting images: Which one is correct in claiming what is being practiced is “natural farming”? Top Image: This one accompanies the Anonymous WWF-Philippines story, “Mindanao Farmers Start Off the Year with Natural Farming Systems Technology” published online December 2019 [1] . The World Wide Fund, WWF, is a very credible international source of knowledge on conservation, right? Not this time. Very clearly, you can see the white plastic mulch covering the furrows and bare soil in-between them. Mr or Ms Anonymous, the plastic mulch is not natural. The soil not covered in-between furrows is not natural. So much soil bare, not natural, allowing so much natural water wasted because it had evaporated from the unprotected, hot soil surface! That is not conservation; that is not natural. The term “natural” is used here very carelessly . Aggie journalists, wake up! How come I noticed all that immediately when I saw the photograph? Because I learned my organic farming more t
Read more