Lesson on TATAKalikasan Ateneo de Manila University
87.9 FM Radyo Katipunan, 11 to 12 a,m, Thursday
April 4, 2024
AGRO-ECOLOGY: Today's Green Revolution
in 12 Scenarios
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog
Co-Host with Fr JM Manzano SJ, AdMU
Part 1 - Food Security is Green Revolution at the Grassroots
Part 2 - Sustainable Productivity: Key to Profitable Agriculture
and Balanced Environment
Part 3 - Agro-Ecology Models with Emphasis in the Ilocos Region
Part 4 - Village Biotechnology - Green Revolution OF, FOR and BY the People
Part 5 - Non-cash farming technology: Foundation of farmstead and natural agriculturePart 6 - Discovering the taste and potentials of the less popular fruits of the Philippines
Part 7 - Love the Bahay Kubo (Nipa Hut) - Bastion of Food Self-Sufficiency
Part 8 - Farming is a Way of Living, a Mode of LifePart 9 - Green Revolution in our Postmodern Era
1. Green Revolution is a term that refers to the development of agriculture, tracing it from the time man settled down to raise animals and plants up to the present in which genetically modified organisms (GMO) of plants and animals are being produced.
A country lass displays local harvest of tomato against a backdrop painting of local fruits, a scenario that attests to the current trend in Natural and Indigenous Farming.
2. Green revolution does not encompass agro-processing such as the making of brewed coffee beans, patis and bagoong, wine and vinegar, milk, cheese and ham, and the like – because these are beyond the farmer’s capability - financially and technically. 
14. The most nutritious of all vegetables in terms of protein are those belonging to the legume family. In fact, a number of legumes have higher protein content than meat.
Part 10- Odaira's Yojigen Postulate (Four-dimensional process in agribusiness)
Part 11 - Homeostasis - Dynamic Balance of Nature
Part 12 - Question & Answer; Follow-up Assignment
Part 1 - Food Security is Green Revolution at the Grassroots: Answer Key to Self-Administered Test -True or False (50 Items)
A country lass displays local harvest of tomato against a backdrop painting of local fruits, a scenario that attests to the current trend in Natural and Indigenous Farming.
3. Green revolution must fit well into the demands of the market, which means that the raising of crops and animal and all attendant activities must conform to such “market directed” principle
4. We are still nomadic like our primitive ancestors were, in the sense that we still derive much of our food and other needs from the sea, hills and forest. Furthermore, we travel far and wide from our homes and families in search of our basic economic needs – food, clothing, shelter and energy. This neo-nomadic syndrome has been spurred by our modern way of living influenced by overpopulation, industrialization, science and technology.
4. We are still nomadic like our primitive ancestors were, in the sense that we still derive much of our food and other needs from the sea, hills and forest. Furthermore, we travel far and wide from our homes and families in search of our basic economic needs – food, clothing, shelter and energy. This neo-nomadic syndrome has been spurred by our modern way of living influenced by overpopulation, industrialization, science and technology.
Gardening for seniors
5. Growing affluence and increasing level of living standard takes us farther and farther away from the basic concept of green revolution, whereby ideally a family lives under one roof guaranteed by the bounty of the land the members cultivate, and historically built within framework of culture and tradition.
6. Based on the previous question, growing affluence and standard of living is the reason why modern China cannot prevent its thousands – nay millions – of young inhabitants to move out of the confines of a once socialistic system in search of the Good Life that they very much deserve.
7. The least sprayed vegetables – that is, vegetables that do not necessarily require the application of pesticides – are those that grow wild. Thus the ruling is, the more native a vegetable is, the more resistant it is to pest.
8. Green Revolution started as a movement in the Philippines way back in the fifties with the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement during the time of President Ramon Magsaysay, with the youth at the helm, led by 4-H Clubs, Rural Improvement Clubs (RIC), Boys Scouts and Girls Scouts, public and elementary schoolchildren, and barrio folks.
9. The crowning glory of Philippine Green Revolution was the attainment of self-sufficiency in food and other agricultural products following a food crisis in the early seventies. Through M-99, Maisan 77, and many barangay food production programs, the country even surpassed sufficiency level and became a net exporter of rice and other food commodities.
10. When you introduce a new plant in your garden – a plant that has not been tried before – you are sure it is virtually free of pests, firstly because it did not bring with it the pests from its origin, and second, the local pests would take time to develop the taste for it.
11. The longest stage or phase of Green Revolution was the expansion of horizons during the colonial period whereby land was forcibly taken and consolidated into estates and haciendas by the colonists. One such case is our own haciendas, a number of them are still existing and operating like Hacienda Luisita, which was exempted from land reform.
12. The corporate world swallowed up small businesses including small farms in the US, Europe and in fact all over the world, such that the capitalist robbed the entrepreneur of his resources, technology, market, and worst, his potentials and therefore his future. (Economies of scale –is this the nemesis of small business?)
13. Today’s fast emerging technologies continue to favor the capitalist thus making him grow even bigger (examples: McDonalds, San Miguel, Robina, Nestle’ and Jollibee conglomerate). This is what social scientists call Neo-colonialism, a kind of agriculture reminiscent of the colonial times. (Or is the trend today the opposite - the dinosaur syndrome is killing the beast.)
6. Based on the previous question, growing affluence and standard of living is the reason why modern China cannot prevent its thousands – nay millions – of young inhabitants to move out of the confines of a once socialistic system in search of the Good Life that they very much deserve.
7. The least sprayed vegetables – that is, vegetables that do not necessarily require the application of pesticides – are those that grow wild. Thus the ruling is, the more native a vegetable is, the more resistant it is to pest.
8. Green Revolution started as a movement in the Philippines way back in the fifties with the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement during the time of President Ramon Magsaysay, with the youth at the helm, led by 4-H Clubs, Rural Improvement Clubs (RIC), Boys Scouts and Girls Scouts, public and elementary schoolchildren, and barrio folks.
9. The crowning glory of Philippine Green Revolution was the attainment of self-sufficiency in food and other agricultural products following a food crisis in the early seventies. Through M-99, Maisan 77, and many barangay food production programs, the country even surpassed sufficiency level and became a net exporter of rice and other food commodities.
10. When you introduce a new plant in your garden – a plant that has not been tried before – you are sure it is virtually free of pests, firstly because it did not bring with it the pests from its origin, and second, the local pests would take time to develop the taste for it.
11. The longest stage or phase of Green Revolution was the expansion of horizons during the colonial period whereby land was forcibly taken and consolidated into estates and haciendas by the colonists. One such case is our own haciendas, a number of them are still existing and operating like Hacienda Luisita, which was exempted from land reform.
12. The corporate world swallowed up small businesses including small farms in the US, Europe and in fact all over the world, such that the capitalist robbed the entrepreneur of his resources, technology, market, and worst, his potentials and therefore his future. (Economies of scale –is this the nemesis of small business?)
13. Today’s fast emerging technologies continue to favor the capitalist thus making him grow even bigger (examples: McDonalds, San Miguel, Robina, Nestle’ and Jollibee conglomerate). This is what social scientists call Neo-colonialism, a kind of agriculture reminiscent of the colonial times. (Or is the trend today the opposite - the dinosaur syndrome is killing the beast.)
School gardening
5. If we rank from highest to lowest in protein content these vegetables should be listed as follows: soybean, seguidillas or calamismis (pallang), mungo, tomato, malunggay.
16. It is better to specialize on certain crops in your garden for practical management. If leafy vegetables, plant pechay, lettuce, mustard, alugbati, talinum, and you need the same kind of soil, topography, amount of water, tools, planting schedule and season, and market.
17. Mang Tonio is a simple farmer. He plants rice in his small paddy once a year because this is what other farms are doing, and it is tradition in the area. They say don’t break away sa naka-ugalihan. If you agree with Mang Tonio answer true.
18. It is possible that a one-hectare farm can produce as much as a four-hectare farm does, even without additional amounts of inputs like fertilizer, pesticide and water.
19. The idea of cottage agro-industry is to make use of inferior quality products that bring more profit or value-added advantage. Examples: immature and broken peanut into butter, overripe banana and tomato for catsup, fruit fly infested guava and mango for puree; typhoon damaged sugarcane into vinegar, bansot piglet into lechon, unsold fish and shrimps into bagoong and patis, and the like.
20. Samaka is a movement, acronym of Samahan ng Masaganang Kakanin – the united effort of a group to have more plentiful food for their families. It is the precursor of successful food production programs later led by PACD (Presidential Arm in Community Development), RCPCC (Rice and Corn Production Coordinating Program) later to become National Food and Agriculture Council (NFAC) which implemented Masagana 99, Maisan 77, Manukan Barangay, Bakahang Barangay, Wheat Production, Soybean Production, and other production programs then under President Marcos. Unfortunately, all these were virtually erased after the Edsa Revolution.
21. Botanically speaking, the parts of these plants we eat are classified as follows: cassava tuber is a root, so with kamote, peanut is a fruit, potato tuber is a stem, onion bulb is a leaf.
22. When buying papaya, the more yellow the fruit appears, the more mature it had been picked from the tree. Avoid buying papaya that appears dominantly green and yellow or orange only at the ridges.
23. There are five kinds of vegetables according to the parts of the plant (botanical classification). The following are classified under at least two kinds: squash or kalabasa, ampalaya, malunggay, sinkamas, short sitao or paayap.
24. The production capacity of genetically modified crops of corn, potato, and soybean – the most common GMO food we are taking every day - has increased even without increasing the supply of nutrients in the soil. GMOs are the world’s ultimate recourse to feed an ever-increasing population now approaching the 8 billion mark.
25. Our soil and climate are favorable to many crops. Let us plant our rice fields and corn fields after harvest season with the following crops so that we will not import them and spend precious dollars, and that, it is the Filipino farmer and not the foreign farmer whom we patronize and subsidize. Potato (potato fries), Soybean (soybean oil, TVP, tokwa, toyo, taho), White beans (pork and beans), wheat (pandesal, cake, noodles).
26. The role of Green Revolution generates in supplying food of a fast growing population is foremost even at the expense of clearing forest, leveling hillsides, reclaiming swamps – and even farming the sea.
27. Talinum is a small herbaceous plant that is why it is so easy to grow, and will last for a long time, season after season and you have vegetables throughout the year. Alugbati is a vine, while malunggay is a tree. In fact they usually grow together in some forgotten corner, along dikes and fences, around open well, and does not need care at all practically speaking. Alugbati is best as salad, cooked with mungo, beef stew, sinigang, bulanglang.
28. Agro-ecology will always clash – there is no compromise. Either you are an ecologist or you are an economist. Take eco-tourism, eco-village, etc.)
29. All these plants are propagated by cutting. All you need to do is cut-and-plant a branch or stem – malunggay, kakawate or madre de cacao, katuray, ipil-ipil, cassava, sugarcane, talinum, alugbati, kamias.
30. Homesite for the Golden Years (HGY) which we launched on PBH has the features of a integrated garden, enterprise, agro-industry, eco-sanctuary. The key is to supply this Patch of Eden (A Slice of Paradise) with all the amenities of modern living.
31. The area required for a Homesite for the Golden Years is greatly variable and flexible; it can be as small as 100 square meters to 10 hectares in area. This allows evolution of as many models as one could think of.
32. The numerous hanging round fruits (tubers) on the stem of ube are the ones we plant, especially on large scale.
33. Acclimatization means helping introduced plants and animals get adapted to their new environment. There are those that succeed but can’t reproduce; while others become better of that their counterparts they left behind.
34. Based on the previous question, there are plants that have not been fully acclimatized even after many years so that extreme attention is given to them like Crucifers – cauliflower, cabbage, wonbok, celery, lettuce, broccoli.
35. Bagging with ordinary paper and/or plastic bags and sacks is necessary to protect from the dreaded fruit fly the fruits of guava, mango, jackfruit, ampalaya, durian, orange, avocado, mangosteen, guyabano and atis.
36. Green thumb is a gift of naturalism. Only those who have this genetic gift are chosen caretakers of God’s Garden of Eden. Others have the equivalent gift in taking care of aquariums, house pets, children’s nursery.
37. We have our local pansit: sotanghon comes from rice while bihon comes mungo. We import noodles, miki and lomi made from wheat, while macaroni and spaghetti are made from semolina wheat or pasta.
38. Value-added, a term in manufacturing gave rise to a new taxation E-VAT. To cope up with the added burden on the part of both entrepreneur and consumer, why not process your product and get instead the benefit of the new law? Example. Don’t just sell your palay harvest, have it milled sold as rice, make flour out of it, make puto and bihon, and others.
39. Based on the same question above, to get the benefits of VAT, market your own produce; be an entrepreneur, a middleman/trader and of course, a producer.
40. Start by planting the seeds of the following crops if you go wish into immediate commercial production – because the seeds of these plants are plentiful, you have no problem of supply: chico, guava, orange, mango, rambutan, lanzones, avocado, tiesa, atis, guayabano – as well as others that produce plenty of seeds. That’s how nature intended it to be.
41. Seeds always turn out genetically true to type. Big mango fruits come from seeds of big mango fruits, big guava means big guava, sweet pomelo – sweet pomelo, seedless atis – seedless atis, red pakwan – red pakwan.
42. Just follow the direction of the sun when you plant by rows and plots – north to south, so that there is less overshadowing of plants. In this case you may increase your harvest by as much as 10 percent.
43. Extend the shelf life of fruits such as mango, avocado, atis, guayabano, nangka, by rubbing salt at the end of the stem, the base of the fruit.
44. Momordica charantia is the scientific name of ampalaya. Why spend for commercial food supplement in bottle, syrup, tablets, pills or dry herbal preparations as advertised - Momordica or Charantia, or Ampalaya Plus? (Write true for each recipe, if correct)
• All you need is buy a bundle of fresh ampalaya tops made into salad and dipped with bagoong and vinegar. It’s good for the whole family.
• Or add ampalaya leaves to mungo and dried fish or sautéed pork.
• Pinakbet anyone? Native or wild ampalaya cut in half or quarter without severing the cut.
• Ampalaya at delatang sardinas.
50. Ordinary people like anyone of us can secure for ourselves and family enough food and proper nutrition. This is food security in action. It is food security that gives us real peace of mind. The biological basis does not need farther explanation. It is the key to unity and harmony in the living world. Queuing for rice defeats the image of a strong economy. High prices of food do not give a good reflection either. How about ASEA, UN, WHO? ASEAN commitment to regional food security, food aid from the UN or US may simply ease the impact of food shortage or inequity in its distribution, but they are but palliative measures. And having a dreamer Joseph in public food depot is not reliable either. It is green revolution at the grassroots that assures us of not only food but other necessities of life – and self-employment. It is that piece of Paradise that has long been lost that resurrect in some corner of your home. Paradise is not lost, if you create one. Do you agree? x x x
ANSWERS: Part 1: 1t 2f 3t 4t 5f 6t 7t 8t 9t 10f 11f 12t 13t 14t 15f 16f 17f 18t 19f 20t 21t 22f 23t 24f 25f 26f 27f 28f 29f 30t 31f 32f 33t 34t 35f 36f 37t 38t 39t 40f 41f 42f 43f 44 to 49 (all true) 50t
16. It is better to specialize on certain crops in your garden for practical management. If leafy vegetables, plant pechay, lettuce, mustard, alugbati, talinum, and you need the same kind of soil, topography, amount of water, tools, planting schedule and season, and market.
17. Mang Tonio is a simple farmer. He plants rice in his small paddy once a year because this is what other farms are doing, and it is tradition in the area. They say don’t break away sa naka-ugalihan. If you agree with Mang Tonio answer true.
18. It is possible that a one-hectare farm can produce as much as a four-hectare farm does, even without additional amounts of inputs like fertilizer, pesticide and water.
19. The idea of cottage agro-industry is to make use of inferior quality products that bring more profit or value-added advantage. Examples: immature and broken peanut into butter, overripe banana and tomato for catsup, fruit fly infested guava and mango for puree; typhoon damaged sugarcane into vinegar, bansot piglet into lechon, unsold fish and shrimps into bagoong and patis, and the like.
20. Samaka is a movement, acronym of Samahan ng Masaganang Kakanin – the united effort of a group to have more plentiful food for their families. It is the precursor of successful food production programs later led by PACD (Presidential Arm in Community Development), RCPCC (Rice and Corn Production Coordinating Program) later to become National Food and Agriculture Council (NFAC) which implemented Masagana 99, Maisan 77, Manukan Barangay, Bakahang Barangay, Wheat Production, Soybean Production, and other production programs then under President Marcos. Unfortunately, all these were virtually erased after the Edsa Revolution.
21. Botanically speaking, the parts of these plants we eat are classified as follows: cassava tuber is a root, so with kamote, peanut is a fruit, potato tuber is a stem, onion bulb is a leaf.
22. When buying papaya, the more yellow the fruit appears, the more mature it had been picked from the tree. Avoid buying papaya that appears dominantly green and yellow or orange only at the ridges.
Home gardening
24. The production capacity of genetically modified crops of corn, potato, and soybean – the most common GMO food we are taking every day - has increased even without increasing the supply of nutrients in the soil. GMOs are the world’s ultimate recourse to feed an ever-increasing population now approaching the 8 billion mark.
25. Our soil and climate are favorable to many crops. Let us plant our rice fields and corn fields after harvest season with the following crops so that we will not import them and spend precious dollars, and that, it is the Filipino farmer and not the foreign farmer whom we patronize and subsidize. Potato (potato fries), Soybean (soybean oil, TVP, tokwa, toyo, taho), White beans (pork and beans), wheat (pandesal, cake, noodles).
26. The role of Green Revolution generates in supplying food of a fast growing population is foremost even at the expense of clearing forest, leveling hillsides, reclaiming swamps – and even farming the sea.
27. Talinum is a small herbaceous plant that is why it is so easy to grow, and will last for a long time, season after season and you have vegetables throughout the year. Alugbati is a vine, while malunggay is a tree. In fact they usually grow together in some forgotten corner, along dikes and fences, around open well, and does not need care at all practically speaking. Alugbati is best as salad, cooked with mungo, beef stew, sinigang, bulanglang.
28. Agro-ecology will always clash – there is no compromise. Either you are an ecologist or you are an economist. Take eco-tourism, eco-village, etc.)
29. All these plants are propagated by cutting. All you need to do is cut-and-plant a branch or stem – malunggay, kakawate or madre de cacao, katuray, ipil-ipil, cassava, sugarcane, talinum, alugbati, kamias.
30. Homesite for the Golden Years (HGY) which we launched on PBH has the features of a integrated garden, enterprise, agro-industry, eco-sanctuary. The key is to supply this Patch of Eden (A Slice of Paradise) with all the amenities of modern living.
31. The area required for a Homesite for the Golden Years is greatly variable and flexible; it can be as small as 100 square meters to 10 hectares in area. This allows evolution of as many models as one could think of.
32. The numerous hanging round fruits (tubers) on the stem of ube are the ones we plant, especially on large scale.
33. Acclimatization means helping introduced plants and animals get adapted to their new environment. There are those that succeed but can’t reproduce; while others become better of that their counterparts they left behind.
34. Based on the previous question, there are plants that have not been fully acclimatized even after many years so that extreme attention is given to them like Crucifers – cauliflower, cabbage, wonbok, celery, lettuce, broccoli.
35. Bagging with ordinary paper and/or plastic bags and sacks is necessary to protect from the dreaded fruit fly the fruits of guava, mango, jackfruit, ampalaya, durian, orange, avocado, mangosteen, guyabano and atis.
36. Green thumb is a gift of naturalism. Only those who have this genetic gift are chosen caretakers of God’s Garden of Eden. Others have the equivalent gift in taking care of aquariums, house pets, children’s nursery.
37. We have our local pansit: sotanghon comes from rice while bihon comes mungo. We import noodles, miki and lomi made from wheat, while macaroni and spaghetti are made from semolina wheat or pasta.
38. Value-added, a term in manufacturing gave rise to a new taxation E-VAT. To cope up with the added burden on the part of both entrepreneur and consumer, why not process your product and get instead the benefit of the new law? Example. Don’t just sell your palay harvest, have it milled sold as rice, make flour out of it, make puto and bihon, and others.
39. Based on the same question above, to get the benefits of VAT, market your own produce; be an entrepreneur, a middleman/trader and of course, a producer.
40. Start by planting the seeds of the following crops if you go wish into immediate commercial production – because the seeds of these plants are plentiful, you have no problem of supply: chico, guava, orange, mango, rambutan, lanzones, avocado, tiesa, atis, guayabano – as well as others that produce plenty of seeds. That’s how nature intended it to be.
41. Seeds always turn out genetically true to type. Big mango fruits come from seeds of big mango fruits, big guava means big guava, sweet pomelo – sweet pomelo, seedless atis – seedless atis, red pakwan – red pakwan.
42. Just follow the direction of the sun when you plant by rows and plots – north to south, so that there is less overshadowing of plants. In this case you may increase your harvest by as much as 10 percent.
43. Extend the shelf life of fruits such as mango, avocado, atis, guayabano, nangka, by rubbing salt at the end of the stem, the base of the fruit.
44. Momordica charantia is the scientific name of ampalaya. Why spend for commercial food supplement in bottle, syrup, tablets, pills or dry herbal preparations as advertised - Momordica or Charantia, or Ampalaya Plus? (Write true for each recipe, if correct)
• All you need is buy a bundle of fresh ampalaya tops made into salad and dipped with bagoong and vinegar. It’s good for the whole family.
• Or add ampalaya leaves to mungo and dried fish or sautéed pork.
• Pinakbet anyone? Native or wild ampalaya cut in half or quarter without severing the cut.
• Ampalaya at delatang sardinas.
50. Ordinary people like anyone of us can secure for ourselves and family enough food and proper nutrition. This is food security in action. It is food security that gives us real peace of mind. The biological basis does not need farther explanation. It is the key to unity and harmony in the living world. Queuing for rice defeats the image of a strong economy. High prices of food do not give a good reflection either. How about ASEA, UN, WHO? ASEAN commitment to regional food security, food aid from the UN or US may simply ease the impact of food shortage or inequity in its distribution, but they are but palliative measures. And having a dreamer Joseph in public food depot is not reliable either. It is green revolution at the grassroots that assures us of not only food but other necessities of life – and self-employment. It is that piece of Paradise that has long been lost that resurrect in some corner of your home. Paradise is not lost, if you create one. Do you agree? x x x
ANSWERS: Part 1: 1t 2f 3t 4t 5f 6t 7t 8t 9t 10f 11f 12t 13t 14t 15f 16f 17f 18t 19f 20t 21t 22f 23t 24f 25f 26f 27f 28f 29f 30t 31f 32f 33t 34t 35f 36f 37t 38t 39t 40f 41f 42f 43f 44 to 49 (all true) 50t
Part 2 - Sustainable Productivity: Key to Profitable Agriculture
and Balanced Environment
Dr Abe V Rotor
[avrotor.blogspot.com]
I learned these practical farming techniques from old folks at home, and from successful farmers, here and abroad, which inspired me to look into their scientific explanation in college.
Death of large scale agriculture in agrarian societies 1. East-to-west orientation Arrange the rows of plants on an east-to-west orientation. This allows better and longer sunlight exposure which enhances photosynthesis. There is less overshadowing among plants compared to north-to-south, or any direction, especially when inter-cropping is practiced. You can increase crop yield to as high as 10 percent by this technique lone.
Have a compass at hand, and remember that an-east-to-west orientation of rows does not only increase yield of your regular crop, but allows you to practice layered or storey cropping as well - thus, enabling you to increase the effective area of your farm. Incidence to pest and diseases is greatly reduced by this practice. Crop quality is likewise improved such as sweetness and size.
There's one drawback though. When it comes to sloping terrain, it is advisable to observe the rules of contour farming that minimizes soil erosion and conserves soil moisture. Consult your nearest agriculturist. Learn from local farm models.
2. Inter-cropping and alternate cropping. In peanut-and-corn alternate planting, peanut is a nitrogen fixer and provides nitrate fertilizer to its companion crop - corn. Corn on the other hand, is a heavy nitrogen feeder. When planted alone and repeatedly, the tendency is that the soil becomes depleted of nitrogen. Peanut benefits from irrigation given to the corn, and gains protection from excessive wind and dryness from its taller companion. And to the farmer, having two crops is like doubling the effective area of his farm, not to mention the maximum use of space in double cropping, which also benefit the animals with corn fodder and peanut "hay."
Here are some common combination of crops.
6. Use by-products efficiently. Farm wastes are converted into many useful products.
Practical farming is the answer to many problems we encounter today such as
Have a compass at hand, and remember that an-east-to-west orientation of rows does not only increase yield of your regular crop, but allows you to practice layered or storey cropping as well - thus, enabling you to increase the effective area of your farm. Incidence to pest and diseases is greatly reduced by this practice. Crop quality is likewise improved such as sweetness and size.
There's one drawback though. When it comes to sloping terrain, it is advisable to observe the rules of contour farming that minimizes soil erosion and conserves soil moisture. Consult your nearest agriculturist. Learn from local farm models.
2. Inter-cropping and alternate cropping. In peanut-and-corn alternate planting, peanut is a nitrogen fixer and provides nitrate fertilizer to its companion crop - corn. Corn on the other hand, is a heavy nitrogen feeder. When planted alone and repeatedly, the tendency is that the soil becomes depleted of nitrogen. Peanut benefits from irrigation given to the corn, and gains protection from excessive wind and dryness from its taller companion. And to the farmer, having two crops is like doubling the effective area of his farm, not to mention the maximum use of space in double cropping, which also benefit the animals with corn fodder and peanut "hay."
Massive erosion leads to irreversible low productivity
- tomato and pechay
- sugarcane with mungbeans
- coconut and coffee or cacao
- coconut and lansones
- stringbeans (pole sitao) and rice
- papaya and pineapple
- peanut, corn and sweet potato
- pigeon pea (kadios) and rice
- grape on hedge and cabbage or cauliflower
- Follow recommended use of the land, the crops to plant, cropping system to follow. Consult local agriculturists, successful farmers.
- Go with the seasons and be part of community farming - when to prepare the seedbed, plant, irrigate, harvest. Off-season planting is expensive and risky, and is done only for special reasons.
- Fallowing. Give your farm a break. Nature takes a rest usually in summer. You can hear the land breath, the cracks harbor aestivating frogs, fish, crustaceans, snails and other organisms. Break the life cycle of pest and disease organisms. Give yourself too, a break.
- Plow after the first heavy rain to turn over the weeds, converting them into organic fertilizer, and keeping their population down.
- Plant native varieties, they are sturdier and simpler to take care. Less fertilizer, less pesticide, if needed. There is a growing market for native crops and animals. People are avoiding pesticide and antibiotic residues, more so, genetically modified crops such as Bt Corn.
- Avoid hybrids as much as possible. They are heavy soil nutrient feeders. They are genetically unstable, you cannot make your own binhi (planting material) out of your harvest.
- Harvest on time and promptly
- Know the shelf life of your harvest. For perishables, sell or process immediately.
- Use proper tools and equipment
- Have your harvest properly dried, packaged and stored, specially if you plan to keep it for some time. Keep it away from the elements and pests.
- Consider quality, not only quantity.
6. Use by-products efficiently. Farm wastes are converted into many useful products.
- Rice hull and sugarcane bagasse for fuel.
- Corn stover, rice hay for livestock feeds.
- Rice and corn bran for poultry and piggery feeds.
- Crop residues, and weeds for composting.
- Banana leaves, rice hay for mushroom growing
- Tobacco stalk for pest control (spray or dust)
- Coconut shell for charcoal (activated carbon)
- Rice hay for mulching (bed cover of garlic, onions, other crops)
- Manure as organic fertilizer and composting
- Palay-isdaan (rice and tilapia, hito, dalag, gurami)
- Sorjan farming - alternate upland and lowland culture. Field is divided into strip, alternately elevated and depressed.
- Piggery and biogas digester for biofuel. Biofuel to run your own generator.
- Poultry on range, feedlot for cattle, fishpond, field and vegetable crops.
- Agro-tourism. Combine farming with ecology. Make farming attractive to tourists, specially children. Let them experience planting, harvesting, catching fish or butterflies. Have you farm suitable for camping.
Practical farming is the answer to many problems we encounter today such as
- High cost of production
- Pollution from farm chemicals
- Loss of farm productivity
- Decreasing profitability
- Harmful residues in crops and animals
- Loss of soil fertility, soil loss due to erosion
Community Gardening, San Juan,
Metro Manila
- Idle farms, abandonment of farms
- Desertification - farm land to wasteland
- Unemployment and underemployment
- High dependence on mechanization and expensive input
- Technology transfer gap
-------------------------
This article is dedicated to the memory of my professors, Dr Eduardo Quisumbing, Dr Deogracias Villadolid, Dr Rufino Gapuz, Dr Juan Aquino, Prof Francisco Claridad, Prof Leopoldo Karganilla, Prof Emiliano Roldan, Dr Nemesio Mendiola, Dr Juan Torres, Dr Fernando de Peralta, et al, advocates of natural farming and acclaimed leaders of the so-called Old School of Agriculture.
Part 3 - Agro-Ecology Models with Emphasis in the Ilocos Region
Dr Abe V Rotor
1. Coastal Greening
Coconut and orchard trees, with cover crops
Coconut and orchard trees, with cover crops
Mainly coconut planting on multiple rows, quincunx, mixed with halophytic
(salt-loving and salt-resistant) trees
· Mangroves (3 genera) along intertidal zone and estuary
· Serves as windbreak, buffer against tidal wave; filters salty breeze and sand
and dust storm
· Source of food, feed, fuel, local industry
· Stabilizes shifting sand dunes, establishes foothold for other plants
2. Roadside and Highway Greening with Acacia, Gmelina, mahogany, other forest trees
· Provides aesthetics and shade
· Ripraps road shoulders
· Serves as windbreak and natural sun visor
· Extends life of infrastructure
· Source of wood, fuel, food, feeds
3. Backyard Green Revolution
Vegetables (leafy, root, fruit and seed vegetables)
Vegetables (leafy, root, fruit and seed vegetables)
Direct source of fresh food
· Integrates cleanliness, sanitation, recycling, savings, exercise, family unity,
and the like
· Bahay Kubo model (all vegetables)
· Herbal-ornamental-vegetable combination
· Orchard Model
· Homelot (semi commercial, combination of crops, animals and/or fish)
4. Riverbank Greening
Kamachile, aroma, mimosa, ipil-ipil (Trees with deep and spreading roots)
Kamachile, aroma, mimosa, ipil-ipil (Trees with deep and spreading roots)
Provides natural riprap, shade and natural fertilizer
· Prevents cutbank erosion, traps sand, silt and clay, thus extends life of river
· Improves biological life of river, increase catch, enhances biodiversity
· Source of firewood, food and feeds
5. Fence Greening
Mainly orchard trees
Serves as “borrowed landscape”, adds aesthetics to home and surroundings
· Provides shade, creates favorable mini-climate for the home and community
· Source of food, medicine, feeds, other materials
· Serves as windbreak, noise buffer, improves air quality
· Serves as local wildlife sanctuary
6. Mudflat Reclamation
Mangrove species (Rhizophora Ceriops, Brugiera, Avecinia) Mangrove arrests shifting mudflat, helps delta formation
· Mangrove forest stabilizes intertidal zone, serves as buffer against tidal wave
Mangrove species (Rhizophora Ceriops, Brugiera, Avecinia) Mangrove arrests shifting mudflat, helps delta formation
· Mangrove forest stabilizes intertidal zone, serves as buffer against tidal wave
and tsunami
· Improves water navigation
· Creates marine sanctuary
· Source of timber, firewood and other materials
· Supplies valuable detritus (organic fertilizer), natural food of marine life
· Improves water navigation
· Creates marine sanctuary
· Source of timber, firewood and other materials
· Supplies valuable detritus (organic fertilizer), natural food of marine life
7. Watershed Rehabilitation
Mainly forest trees with orchard trees,
simulated tropical rainforest (multi-storey)
· Reforestation restores green cover that enhances the integrity
of watershed
· Minimizes erosion and siltation, restores natural soil fertility
· Protects waterfalls, springs, rivers and lakes,
· Increases stored water supply (ground water and aquifers)
· Source of timber, firewood, other materials
· Creates/restores wildlife sanctuary, increases biodiversity
· Prevents forest and brush fire
· Minimizes erosion and siltation, restores natural soil fertility
· Protects waterfalls, springs, rivers and lakes,
· Increases stored water supply (ground water and aquifers)
· Source of timber, firewood, other materials
· Creates/restores wildlife sanctuary, increases biodiversity
· Prevents forest and brush fire
8. Woodland Hedgerow
Two models of woodland hedgerows
· Serves as wildlife sanctuary
· Sanctuary of biological agents that control pest
· Conserves water, prevents erosion and siltation
· Increases organic matter supply, reduces oxidation of organic matter
· Source of firewood, timber, other materials
· Serves as recreation area, adds aesthetics
· Creates mini-climate, serves as buffer zone
Fruits with Economic Potential in the Ilocos Region
Of the 200 kinds of fruits in the Philippines, 40 to 50 species are grown to some extent for their edible fruits and other uses.The rest are still found in the wild, or if already domesticated are not given significant attention.
Convergence 8 encourages in the propagation/production of indigenous fruit trees. Evaluation of these species is based on these characteristics.
· Nutritional value
· Domestic and export potential
· Diversity of Uses
· Potentials for primary and secondary processing
· High yield and good income
· Potential for creating new employment
· Ecological significance
· Medicinal and industrial uses as well
Here is a list of potential fruits in the Ilocos Region in local names.
Convergence 8 encourages in the propagation/production of indigenous fruit trees. Evaluation of these species is based on these characteristics.
· Nutritional value
· Domestic and export potential
· Diversity of Uses
· Potentials for primary and secondary processing
· High yield and good income
· Potential for creating new employment
· Ecological significance
· Medicinal and industrial uses as well
Here is a list of potential fruits in the Ilocos Region in local names.
Coconut Balimbing Kamias Mango Cashew Chico Duhat Cacao Guava Atis Guyabano Suha Nangka Rimas Kamansi Caramay Santol Siniguelas Tamarind Camuyao Tiessa Mabolo Makopa Caimito Kamachile Bignay Sapote Anonang Battocanag Tampoy Manzanitas Avocado Coffee Achuete Tea Betel nut Pomegranate
Firewood Farming (Green Energy)·For more than a third of the world’s population, the real energy crisis is a daily scramble to find wood to cook meals. In the Third World 90 percent of the people depend on firewood.
· Firewood scarcity is most acute in arid and semi arid regions, but is now felt in logged over areas and growing urban centers. Price of firewood has increased as much as the price of fossil fuels.
· In the sixties and seventies the Philippines introduced giant ipil-ipil, but monocropping resulted in fatal insect infestation. There is a need of systematic management in the culture of wood crops.
· Here is a list of firewood crops known to be adapted in the Ilocos region. Many of these are also valuable for timber and construction materials.
Acacia (Samanea saman and Acacia auriculiformis)
Agoho (Casuarina equisitifolia)
Madre de cacao or kakawate (Gliricidia sepium)
Talisay (Terminalia catappa)
Katuray (Sesbania grandiflora)
Mangroves (Rhizophora, Brugiera, Avicennia)
Bamboo (Bambusa spp.)
Gmelina (G. arborea)
Alagao (Trema odorata)
Eucalyptus (E. globulus, E. grandis)
Bitaog (Callophyllum innophylum)
Kamachile (Pithecolobium dulce)
Golden shower (Cassia fistula)
Ipil-ipil (Leucaena leucacephala or L. glauca)
Aratiles (Muntingia calabura)
Duhat (Syzygium cumini)
Albizia or kariskis (A. lebbekoides)
Aroma or candaroma (Acacia farnesiana)
Firetree (Delonix regia)There are many others that include kapok, mulberry, alokong, ilang-ilang, and lanute. Firewood also comes from shrubs like pandakaki or busbusilac, pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) and other plant residues (e.g. dried coconut palm, tobacco stalk). All over the world, there are 1,200 firewood species listed, with 700 given top ranking.
· Firewood scarcity is most acute in arid and semi arid regions, but is now felt in logged over areas and growing urban centers. Price of firewood has increased as much as the price of fossil fuels.
· In the sixties and seventies the Philippines introduced giant ipil-ipil, but monocropping resulted in fatal insect infestation. There is a need of systematic management in the culture of wood crops.
· Here is a list of firewood crops known to be adapted in the Ilocos region. Many of these are also valuable for timber and construction materials.
Acacia (Samanea saman and Acacia auriculiformis)
Agoho (Casuarina equisitifolia)
Madre de cacao or kakawate (Gliricidia sepium)
Talisay (Terminalia catappa)
Katuray (Sesbania grandiflora)
Mangroves (Rhizophora, Brugiera, Avicennia)
Bamboo (Bambusa spp.)
Gmelina (G. arborea)
Alagao (Trema odorata)
Eucalyptus (E. globulus, E. grandis)
Bitaog (Callophyllum innophylum)
Kamachile (Pithecolobium dulce)
Golden shower (Cassia fistula)
Ipil-ipil (Leucaena leucacephala or L. glauca)
Aratiles (Muntingia calabura)
Duhat (Syzygium cumini)
Albizia or kariskis (A. lebbekoides)
Aroma or candaroma (Acacia farnesiana)
Firetree (Delonix regia)There are many others that include kapok, mulberry, alokong, ilang-ilang, and lanute. Firewood also comes from shrubs like pandakaki or busbusilac, pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) and other plant residues (e.g. dried coconut palm, tobacco stalk). All over the world, there are 1,200 firewood species listed, with 700 given top ranking.
Greening with Malunggay and Kakawate through Stem Cuttings
Malunggay is the most nutritious local vegetable (leaves and fruits)
Kakawate is the most versatile wood crop (renewable firewood, construction material for dwelling and fence)
· Easy to propagate through stem cuttings
· Same soil (well-drained) and climatic requirements (onset of the rainy season)
· Procedure is basically the same.
Kakawate is the most versatile wood crop (renewable firewood, construction material for dwelling and fence)
· Easy to propagate through stem cuttings
· Same soil (well-drained) and climatic requirements (onset of the rainy season)
· Procedure is basically the same.
Hillyland Farming Systems in the Philippines
Farm systems and Soil Resources Institute, UPLB 1986
KABASAKA: A program to increase income of rainfed rice farmers, PCARRD, 1979
The Philippines Recommends: Corn, Mango, Pineapple, Grapes, Coffee, Cacao, Ginger, Mungo, Water Impounding, Agroforestry, Bamboo, Production of Fast Growing Hardwoods, Irrigation Management, PCARRD (1970-80)
Success Stories of Farmer-Managed Coconut-Based Farming Systems
(Vols. 1 & 2) PCARRD, 1991; Measuring the Economic Viability of Agricultural Technologies, PCARRD 1991; Technology Transfer for Sustainable Development; DOST-PCARRD-PCAMRD 1989
Firewood Crops – Shrub and Tree Species for Energy Production
National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC 1980
Promising Fruits of the Philippines – R.E. Carbonel (UPLB)
Technology! (Copra Dryer, Banana Rejects for Cattle, Multi-purpose Farm Pond, Ipil-ipil Meal, Coco Timber, Corn and Ipil-ipil Farming, Backyard Fattening of Cattle, Rice-fish Culture), PCARRD (1970-1990)
Extension Bulletin of Food and Fertilizer Technology Center ASPAC (100 volumes of varied topics) 1960 to 2000
Plants of the Philippines (1971) – UP Diliman; Useful Plants of the Philippines (3 volumes, original 1938)) by William H. Brown
Saemaul Undong (New Community Movement in South Korea) FFTC 1970
Farm systems and Soil Resources Institute, UPLB 1986
KABASAKA: A program to increase income of rainfed rice farmers, PCARRD, 1979
The Philippines Recommends: Corn, Mango, Pineapple, Grapes, Coffee, Cacao, Ginger, Mungo, Water Impounding, Agroforestry, Bamboo, Production of Fast Growing Hardwoods, Irrigation Management, PCARRD (1970-80)
Success Stories of Farmer-Managed Coconut-Based Farming Systems
(Vols. 1 & 2) PCARRD, 1991; Measuring the Economic Viability of Agricultural Technologies, PCARRD 1991; Technology Transfer for Sustainable Development; DOST-PCARRD-PCAMRD 1989
Firewood Crops – Shrub and Tree Species for Energy Production
National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC 1980
Promising Fruits of the Philippines – R.E. Carbonel (UPLB)
Technology! (Copra Dryer, Banana Rejects for Cattle, Multi-purpose Farm Pond, Ipil-ipil Meal, Coco Timber, Corn and Ipil-ipil Farming, Backyard Fattening of Cattle, Rice-fish Culture), PCARRD (1970-1990)
Extension Bulletin of Food and Fertilizer Technology Center ASPAC (100 volumes of varied topics) 1960 to 2000
Plants of the Philippines (1971) – UP Diliman; Useful Plants of the Philippines (3 volumes, original 1938)) by William H. Brown
Saemaul Undong (New Community Movement in South Korea) FFTC 1970
Note: Convergence 8 Program was presented in a briefing with Congressman Salacnib Baterina, Ist District of Ilocos Sur some years ago. I am posting the outline of the proposed program after it was recently presented in a lecture in the academe. It may also serve as reference for development planners. ~
Part 4 - Village Biotechnology -
Green Revolution OF, FOR and BY the People
Dr Abe V Rotor
"Many village industries bowed out to companies that now control the production of commercial and imported brands, such as patis, suka, puto, nata, bihon, to name a few. The proliferation of many products and the inability of local products to keep up with the growing sophisticated market have further brought the doom of these originally village products. Definitely under such circumstances the small players under the business parameter of economies of scale*** find themselves at the losing end. Bigness is name of the game. Can we regain the lost village-based biotechnology industries?"
My father, a gentleman farmer, was a brewer. He inherited the trade from my grandfather and from previous generations. I still use today the good earthen jars in producing the same products – basi, the traditional Ilocos wine, and its by-product, natural vinegar - using the same indigenous formula. (PHOTOS)
The making of basi and vinegar, as well as a dozen other products of sugarcane, like panocha, pulitiput, kalamay, sinambong, and kinalti, is a traditional cottage industry in the Ilocos region which is traced back to the Pre-Hispanic era when hundreds of small independent brewers like my father lived comfortably on this once flourishing industry.
Things appeared simple then. But time has changed. We know that sugarcane has long been planted with rice, legumes and vegetables, but it sounds like new in modern parlance with terms like crop rotation or crop diversification. Making of wine, vinegar and confectionary products are under agro-industry. Because the process generates profit, we call this value-added advantage. So with the tax that is now slap manufactured products. To determine the business viability of a business we determine its internal rate of return (IIR) and its return on investment (ROI). Brewing today is agro-processing and an agribusiness. And my father would be called not just a proprietor, but a business partner since family members and relatives share in the operation of the business. Possibly his title today would be general manager or CEO.
Things in my father’s time had become outdated, shifting away from traditional to modern. But it is not only a matter of terminology; it is change in business structure and system.
Big business is name of the game
Like many other village industries, the local breweries bowed out to companies that now control the production of commercial and imported brands. The proliferation of many products and the inability of local products to keep up with the growing sophisticated market have further brought their doom. Definitely under such circumstances the small players under the business parameter of economics of scale find themselves at the losing end. Bigness is name of the game.
Monopolies and cartels now control much of the economy here and in other countries. Transnational companies have grown into giants, that one big company far outweighs the economy of a small country. Total business assets of North Carolina is more than that of Argentina, which is one of the biggest countries of the world in terms of land area and population.
Today agribusiness and biotechnology are corporate terms that are difficult to translate on the village level and by small entrepreneurs.
All these fit well into the present capitalistic system that is greatly under the influence of IMF-WB on borrower-countries, and terms of trade agreements imposed by GATT-WTO on its members, many of which reluctantly signed the its ratification. Under the capitalistic system there has been a shift of countryside industries into the hands of corporations, national and transnational. Take these examples.
Things appeared simple then. But time has changed. We know that sugarcane has long been planted with rice, legumes and vegetables, but it sounds like new in modern parlance with terms like crop rotation or crop diversification. Making of wine, vinegar and confectionary products are under agro-industry. Because the process generates profit, we call this value-added advantage. So with the tax that is now slap manufactured products. To determine the business viability of a business we determine its internal rate of return (IIR) and its return on investment (ROI). Brewing today is agro-processing and an agribusiness. And my father would be called not just a proprietor, but a business partner since family members and relatives share in the operation of the business. Possibly his title today would be general manager or CEO.
Things in my father’s time had become outdated, shifting away from traditional to modern. But it is not only a matter of terminology; it is change in business structure and system.
Big business is name of the game
Like many other village industries, the local breweries bowed out to companies that now control the production of commercial and imported brands. The proliferation of many products and the inability of local products to keep up with the growing sophisticated market have further brought their doom. Definitely under such circumstances the small players under the business parameter of economics of scale find themselves at the losing end. Bigness is name of the game.
Monopolies and cartels now control much of the economy here and in other countries. Transnational companies have grown into giants, that one big company far outweighs the economy of a small country. Total business assets of North Carolina is more than that of Argentina, which is one of the biggest countries of the world in terms of land area and population.
Today agribusiness and biotechnology are corporate terms that are difficult to translate on the village level and by small entrepreneurs.
All these fit well into the present capitalistic system that is greatly under the influence of IMF-WB on borrower-countries, and terms of trade agreements imposed by GATT-WTO on its members, many of which reluctantly signed the its ratification. Under the capitalistic system there has been a shift of countryside industries into the hands of corporations, national and transnational. Take these examples.
Unfortunately this inequity in the sharing of the benefits of these industries is exacerbated by the absence of a strong and effective mass-based program that emphasizes countryside development through livelihood and employment opportunities. Multi-national monopolies thrive on such business climate and biased laws and program in their favor.
We import rice, corn, sugar, fruits, meat and poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables in both fresh and processed products, when in the sixties and seventies we were exporters of the same products. We were then second or third in ranking after Japan in terms of economic development.
“Small business is beautiful” (PHOTO: EC Schumacher, author)
There must be something wrong somewhere. But while we diagnose our country’s ills, we should make references to our own successes, and even come to a point of looking on models within our reach and capability to imitate. There are “unsung heroes” in practically all fields from business, agriculture, manufacturing to folk medicine and leadership. Perhaps for us who belong to the older generation, it is good to feel whenever we recall old times when life was better – and better lived.
Biopiracy and technopiracy
Ampalaya (Momordica charantia) is a source of medicinal substances registered iunder exclusive brand names by drug companies here and abroad.
(Biopiracy is a situation where indigenous knowledge of nature, originating with indigenous peoples, is used by others for profit, without permission from and with little or no compensation or recognition to the indigenous people themselves.Informal or “underground” economy. Internet)
Informal or “underground” economy is the lifeblood of rural communities. They are the seat of tradition, rituals, barter and other informal transactions. They link the farm and the kitchen and the local market. They are versions of agro-processing and agribusiness on the scale of proprietorship and family business. They strengthen family and community ties.
It is for this reason that the NACIDA – National Cottage Industry Development Authority – was organized. And truly, it brought economic prosperity to thousands of entrepreneurs and families in the fifties to sixties.
South Korea for one in the late sixties, saw our PRRM and NACIDA models and improved on them with their SAEMAUL UNDONG development program which ultimately brought tremendous progress in its war-torn countryside. In Tanzania, one can glimpse some similarities of our program with LAEDZA BATANI (Wake up, it’s time to get moving) rural development program. The Philippines stood as an international model, recognized by the WB and ADB, for our countryside development program – cottage industries, farmers’ associations, electric cooperatives, rice and corn production program, which made us agricultural exporters. So with our biotechnology in farm waste utilization through composting with the use of Trichoderma inoculation, and in natural rice farming by growing Azolla in lieu of urea and ammonium nitrate. Another area of biotechnology is in the retting of maguey fiber, which is a work of decomposing bacteria.
The Saemaul Undong, also known as the New Village Movement, Saemaul Movement or Saema'eul Movement, was a political initiative launched on April 22, 1970 by South Korean president Park Chung-hee to modernize the rural South Korean economy. The movement is being revived today as a model for developing countries such as Cambodia, 2015 (photo)
Today there are many opportunities of biotechnology that can be tapped and packaged for small and medium size businesses and organized groups of entrepreneurs and farmers. These opportunities also pose a big challenge to the academe and to enterprising researchers in government and private institutions.
Important organisms for biotechnology
• Spirulina (blue-green alga or Eubacterium) - high protein, elixir.• Chlorella (green alga) – vegetable, oxygen generator• Pleurotus and Volvariella (fungi, mushroom) – anti-cancer food.• Azolla-Anabaena (eubacterium with fern)– natural fertilizer• Porphyra, red seaweed, high-value food (“food of the gods”)• Hormophysa (brown alga) – antibiotics• Eucheuma (red alga) – source of carageenan, food conditioner• Gracillaria (brown alga) – source of agar, alginate• Sargassum (brown alga) – fertilizer and fodder• Saccharomyces (fungus, yeast) – fermentation• Aspergillus (fungus) – medicine, fermentation• Penicillium (fungus) – antibiotics. Caulerpa (green alga) – salad• Leuconostoc (bacterium) – nata de coco, fermentation of vegetables• Acetobacter (bacterium) – acetic acid manufacture• Rhizobium (bacterium) – Nitrogen fixer for soil fertility• Nostoc (BGA or Eubacterium) – bio-fertilizer• Ganoderma (tree fungus) – food supplement, reducer• Halobacterium and Halococcus (bacteria)- bagoong and patis making• Lactobacillus (bacterium) lactic fermentation, yogurt making• Candida (yeast) – source of lysine, vitamins, lipids and inveratse• Torulopsis (yeast) – leavening of puto and banana cake• Trichoderma (fungus) – innoculant to accelerate composting time.
Before I go proceed allow me to present a background of biotechnology in relation with the history of agriculture.
Three Green Revolutions
The First Green Revolution took place when man turned hunter to farmer, which also marked the birth of human settlement, in the Fertile Crescent, (PHOTO) between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers where the present war in Iraq is taking place.
The Second Green Revolution is characterized by the improvement of farming techniques and the expansion of agricultural frontiers, resulting in the conversion of millions of hectares of land into agriculture all over the world. This era lasted for some three hundred years, and marched with the advent of modern science and technology, which gave rise to Industrial Revolution. Its momentum however, was interrupted by two world wars.
Then in the second part of the last century, a Third Green Revolution was born. With the strides of science and technology, agricultural production tremendously increased. Economic prosperity followed specially among post-colonial nations - the Third World - which took the cudgels of self rule, earning respect in the international community, and gaining the status of Newly Industrialized Nations (NICs) one after another.
Towards the end of the last century, the age of biotechnology and genetic engineering arrived. Here the conventions of agriculture have been radically changed. For example, desirable traits are transferred through gene splicing so that trans-generic – even trans-kingdom – trait combinations are now possible. Bt Corn, a genetically modified corn that carries the caterpillar-repelling gene of a bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, exemplifies such case. Penicillin-producing microorganisms are not only screened from among naturally existing species and strains; they are genetically engineered with super genes from other organisms known for their superior production efficiency.
Biotechnology for people and environment
The need for food and other commodities is ever increasing. Together with conventional agriculture, biotechnology will be contributing significantly to the production of food, medicine, raw materials for the industry, and in keeping a balanced ecology. This indeed will offer relief to the following scenarios:
1. World’s population increases from today’s 8 billion to 10 billion in 10 years.
2. Agricultural frontiers have virtually reached dead end.
3. Farmlands continue to shrink, giving way to settlements and industry,
while facing the onslaught of erosion and desertification
4. Pollution is getting worse in air, land and water. (Photos: right, garbage clandestinely exported by Canada to the Philippines)
5. Global warming is not only a threat; it is a real issue to deal with.
These scenarios seem to revive the Apocalyptic Malthusian theory, which haunts many poor countries - and even industrialized countries where population density is high. We are faced with the problem on how to cope up with a crisis brought about by the population-technology-environment tandem that has started showing its fangs at the close of the 20th century.
Now we talk in terms of quality life, health and longevity, adequate food supply and proper nutrition - other human development indices (HDI), notwithstanding.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As scientists open the new avenue of genetic engineering to produce genetically modified organisms for food, medicine and industry, entrepreneurs are shaping up a different kind of Green Revolution on the old country road – the employment of veritable, beneficial microorganisms to answer the basic needs of the vast majority of the world’s population.
Green Revolution for the masses
This Green Revolution has to be addressed to the masses. The thrust in biotechnology development must have a strong social objective. This must include the integration of the mass-based enterprises with research and development (R&D). Like the defunct NACIDA, a program for today should be cottage-based, not only corporate-based. Genetic engineering should be explored not for scientific reasons or for profit motives alone, but purposely for social objectives that could spur socio-economic growth on the countryside, and the improvement the lives of millions of people.
Alternative Food
These lowly organisms will be farmed like conventional crops. In fact, today mushroom growing is among the high-tech agricultural industries, from spawn culture to canning.
Spirulina, a cyanobacterium, has been grown for food since ancient times by the Aztecs in Mexico and in early civilizations in the Middle East. Its culture is being revived on estuaries and lakes, and even in small scale, in tanks and ponds. Today the product is sold as “vegetablet.”
Seaweeds, on the other hand, are being grown extensively and involving many species, from Caulerpa to Nori. (PHOTO below) Seaweed farming has caught worldwide attention in this last two decades, not only because it offers a good source of food, but also industrial products like carageenan and agar.
These scenarios seem to revive the Apocalyptic Malthusian theory, which haunts many poor countries - and even industrialized countries where population density is high. We are faced with the problem on how to cope up with a crisis brought about by the population-technology-environment tandem that has started showing its fangs at the close of the 20th century.
Now we talk in terms of quality life, health and longevity, adequate food supply and proper nutrition - other human development indices (HDI), notwithstanding.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As scientists open the new avenue of genetic engineering to produce genetically modified organisms for food, medicine and industry, entrepreneurs are shaping up a different kind of Green Revolution on the old country road – the employment of veritable, beneficial microorganisms to answer the basic needs of the vast majority of the world’s population.
Green Revolution for the masses
This Green Revolution has to be addressed to the masses. The thrust in biotechnology development must have a strong social objective. This must include the integration of the mass-based enterprises with research and development (R&D). Like the defunct NACIDA, a program for today should be cottage-based, not only corporate-based. Genetic engineering should be explored not for scientific reasons or for profit motives alone, but purposely for social objectives that could spur socio-economic growth on the countryside, and the improvement the lives of millions of people.
Alternative Food
These lowly organisms will be farmed like conventional crops. In fact, today mushroom growing is among the high-tech agricultural industries, from spawn culture to canning.
Spirulina, a cyanobacterium, has been grown for food since ancient times by the Aztecs in Mexico and in early civilizations in the Middle East. Its culture is being revived on estuaries and lakes, and even in small scale, in tanks and ponds. Today the product is sold as “vegetablet.”
Seaweeds, on the other hand, are being grown extensively and involving many species, from Caulerpa to Nori. (PHOTO below) Seaweed farming has caught worldwide attention in this last two decades, not only because it offers a good source of food, but also industrial products like carageenan and agar.
In the remote case that a nuclear explosion occurs, how possible is it to produce food and other needs in the bomb shelters deep underground? Fiction as it may seem, the lowly microorganisms have an important role. For one, mushrooms do not need sunlight to grow. Take it from the mushroom-growing termites. Another potential crop is Chlorella. While it produces fresh biomass as food it is also an excellent oxygen generator, oxygen being the by-product of photosynthesis. But where will Chlorella get light? Unlike higher plants, this green alga can make use of light and heat energy from an artificial source like fluorescent lamp.
Sewage treatment with the use of algae is now common in the outskirts of big cities like New York and Tokyo. From the air the open sewer is a series of reservoirs through which the sewage is treated until the spent material is released. The sludge is converted into organic fertilizer and soil conditioner, while the water is safely released into the natural environment such as a lake or river.
Marine seaweeds are known to grow in clean water. Their culture necessitates maintenance of the marine environment. Surprisingly seaweeds help in maintaining a clean environment, since they trap particles and detritus, and increase dissolved Oxygen and reduce dissolved CO2 level in water.
Bacteria being decomposers return organic substances to nature. So with algae and fungi. Fermentation is in fact, a process of converting organic materials into inorganic forms for the use of the next generation of organisms. In the process, man makes use of the intermediate products like ethyl alcohol, acetic acid, nata de coco, lactic acid, and the like.
Speaking of sustainable agriculture, take it from Nature’s biofertilizers like Nostoc and other Eubacteria. These BGAs form green matting on rice fields. Farmers in India and China gather this biomass, and use it as natural fertilizer. Another is Rhizobium, a bacterium that fixes atmospheric Nitrogen into NO3, the form of N plants directly absorb and utilize. Its fungal counterpart, Mycorrhiza, converts Nitrogen in the same way, except that this microorganism thrives in the roots of orchard and forest trees.
Let me cite the success of growing Azolla-Anabaena (PHOTO) on ricefields in Asian countries. This is another biofertilizer, and discriminating consumers are willing to pay premium price for rice grown without chemical fertilizer - only with organic and bio-fertilizers. At one time a good friend, medical doctor and gentleman farmer, Dr. P. Parra, invited me to see his Azolla farm in Iloilo. What I saw was a model of natural farming, employing biotechnology in his integrated farm –
• Azolla for rice,
• Biogas from piggery,
• Trichoderma for composting.
• Food processing (fruit wine and vinegar)
His market for his natural farm products are people as far as Manila who are conscious of their health, and willing to pay the premium price for naturally grown food.
Genetic Engineering
It is true that man has succeeded in splicing the DNA, in like manner that he harnessed the atom through fission. Genetic engineering is a kind of accelerated and guided evolution, and while it helps man screen and develop new breeds and varieties, it has yet to offer the answer to the declining productivity of farms and agriculture, in general, particularly in developing countries. Besides, genetically engineered products have yet to earn a respectable place in the market and household.
Genetic engineering of beneficial organisms is the subject of research institutions all over the world. I had a chance to visit the Biotechnology Center in Taipei and saw various experiments conducted by Chinese scientists particularly on antibiotics production. But biotechnology has also its danger. One example is the case of the “suicide seeds”. These are hybrid seeds which carry a trigger enzyme which destroys the embryo soon after harvest so that the farmers will be forced to buy again seeds for the next cropping. It is similar to self-destruct diskettes, or implanted viruses in computers. This is how Monsanto, the inventor of suicide seeds, is creating an empire built at the expense of millions of poor farmers over the world.
Medicine and Natural FoodAs resistance of pests and pathogens continue to increase and become immune to drugs, man is corollarily searching for more potent and safe kinds and formulations. He has resorted to looking into the vast medicinal potentials of these lowly organisms, as well as their value as natural food. Here are some popular examples.
1. Nori or gamet (Porphyra, a red alga) – elixir,
claimed to be more potent than Viagra (PHOTO)2. Edible seaweeds - rich in iodine, vegetable substitute.
There is no known poisonous seaweed.
3. Seaweeds as source of natural antibiotics, much safer than conventional antibiotics.
4. Mushrooms have anti-cancer properties.(PHOTO: author with wild mushroom from the field)
6. Cyanobacteria prolongs life, restores youthfulness.
7. Yeast is a health food
8. Yogurt is bacteria-fermented milk, health drink.
9. Carica and Momordica extracts for medicine and health food
10. Organically grown food (without the use of chemical pesticide and fertilizer)
Dr. Domingo Tapiador (PHOTO), a retired UN expert on agriculture and fisheries, helped initiate the introduction of Spirulina in the country. He showed me the capsule preparation produced in Japan. “Why can’t we grow Spirulina locally?” he asked.
These lowly groups of organisms which cannot even qualify as plants, but instead protists with which protozoa are their kin, biologically speaking that is, are after all “giants.”
They hold the promise in providing food, medicine, clean environment, and as a whole, a better quality of human life for the people today and the coming generations.~
---------------
** The theme for International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2021 is “Building Forward Together: Ending Persistent Poverty, Respecting all People and our Planet”. How many people live below the international poverty line?
736 million people lived below the international poverty line of US $ 1.90 a day in 2015. In 2018, almost 8 per cent of the world’s workers and their families lived on less than US$1.90 per person per day. Most people living below the poverty line belong to two regions: Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
*** In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to size, output, or scale of operation, with cost per unit of output generally decreasing with increasing scale as fixed costs are spread out over more units of output.
Part 5 - Non-cash farming technology:
Foundation of farmstead and natural agriculture
“It is technology farmers do not have to pay cash for a non- cash input.” This definition actually refers to good basic farm practices which small farmers can carry out themselves - first, to save on production cost; second, to improve production efficiency; and third to institutionalize farming into farmstead, and as a way of life.
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog [avrotor.blogspot.com]
Multi-storey cropping; integrated contour farming
Non- cash technology, however, should not be regarded as alternative to cash input per se, but can be a substitute to some costly items. What is significant in the concept is that good farm practices can maximize the value of cash input.
The best examples are found right in all fundamental steps of good farming. Good seeds generally produce more yields under any condition. These means farmers must practice seed selection, and plant only certified seeds. Grains produced from poor seeds are not only few; they produce low milling recovery due to admixtures of different grain shape, size and maturity.
The labor-intensive characteristic of typical farms in Asia ideally provides for greater attention to enhance proper farm management. After all, the progressive farmer is one who prepares is land more thoroughly, manages his nursery better, water his field more cleanly and has better water control, mainly through his effort and those of his large family.
Non-cash technology extends further from mere saving on direct expenses. It is also based on innovative approaches. A rice-garlic combination has these components; the garlic crop “rides” on the remaining soil moisture and on the tillage of early rice crop; and rice straw is used to mulch garlic in order to reduce water loss and weed population.
Other popular examples of non-cash inputs are:
- Use early maturing varieties to allow a second or third cropping.
- Make use of solar energy in drying palay, corn and other farm products.
- Follow precise timing of land preparation to turn up weeds to dry up. Plow them under to be decomposed to save on herbicide and laborious weeding
- Prepare rows parallel to East-West direction to allow more solar exposure to enhance growth and yield.
- Practice green manuring in place of or supplement to, commercial fertilizers.
- Recycle farm residues like corn stovers, rice straw and peanut hay for livestock, and farm wastes for organic fertilizer.
- Practice intercropping to reduce the spread and occurrence of pests and diseases, and to maximize the utilization of an input like fertilizer.
Rice hay for mulching seedbeds and plots. Don't burn farm wastes,
compost them instead into valuable organic fertilizer.
Integrated home garden; integrated homestead models
Acknowledgement: Internet illustrations
Part 6 - Discovering the taste and potentials
of the less popular fruits of the Philippines
Scan a fruit stand in Manila and enjoy a variety of taste, travelogue and history.
Lanzones from Paete, marang from South Cotabato, pomelo from Davao, manggang kalabao from Zambales, strawberry from Baguio, durian from Maguindanao, dalangita from Cavite, pakwan from Candaba – but wait.
But these are only samples of the country’s rich variety of fruits. What we may not readily find in the market are the less popular fruits, fruits that are even better, not to mention their rarity of their taste, than the major ones.
Here is a list of the minor fruits of the Philippines, often referred to as “promising fruits” because of their great potential in agriculture and industry, for both domestic and foreign markets.
1. Atis (Anona squamosa)
It is also called sugar apple for its very sweet taste. The fruit when mature is light green or yellowish, the ridges becoming wide apart, and in some cases split. Atis is a typical example of collective fruit, each seed covered by fleshy carpel which we each. The seeds are small and kids playfully spit them out like a blow gun.
2. Avocado (Persia americana)
It originated from Mexico where it is a very popular. In fact it is Mexico’s national fruit. It was introduced into the country by the Spaniards in the 17th century. Today avocado is found in most part of the country and cultivated in the backyard.
3. Balimbing (Averrhoa carambola)
4. Kamias (Averrhoa balimbi)
5. Caimito (Chrysophyllum cainito) PHOTO, Internet
6. Cashew (Anacardium occidentale)7. Chico (Manikara zapota syn., Achras zapota)
8. Duhat (Syzygium cumini)
9. Duruian (Durio zibethinus)
10. Grapes (Vitis vinifera)
11. Guava (Psidium guajava)
12. Guyabano (Anona muricata)
13. Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)
14. Lanzones (Lansium domesticum)
15. Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana)
16. Pili (Canarium ovatum)
17. Rambutan (Nephalium appaceum)
18. Rimas (Artocarpus altilis)
19. Kamansi (A. camansi)
20. Santol (Sandoricum koetjape)
21. Sineguelas (Spondias purpurea)
22. Strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis)
23. Tamarind (Tamarindus indica)
24. Tiessa (Poteria campechiana syn Locuma nervosa)
Other noteworthy fruits25. Bago (Gnetum gnenum)
26. Bignay (Antidesma bunuis) PHOTO, Internet
27. Biriba (Rollina deliciosa syn R. orthopetala)
28. Chico-Mamey ( Pouteria sapota syn., Calocarpum sapota)
29. Datiles (Muntingia calabura)
30. Kalumpit (Terminalia microcarpa)
31. Kamachili (Pithecolobium dulce)
32. Kayam (Inocarpus eduluis)
33. Mabolo ( Diospyrus blancoi)
34. Makopa (Syzygium samarangense)
35. Manzanitas (Ziziphus jujuba)
36. Marang (Artocarpus pdoratoissima)
37. Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis)
38. Granadilla (Punica granatum)
39. Tampoy
40. Sapote
References: The Promising Fruits of the Philippines by Dr. Roberto E. Coronel; The Living with Nature Handbook by AV Rotor
Part 7 - Love the Bahay Kubo (Nipa Hut)
- Bastion of Food Self-Sufficiency
Bahay Kubo takes us closer to nature, makes us appreciate our culture, and leads us to the inner calling for peace, quiet and joy.
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog
Traditional Bahay Kubo painting by the author
Bahay Kubo (My Nipa Hut) is one of the most loved traditional songs. All kids in my generation learned it by heart in the elementary. Not so many kids today are familiar with it. It is good to rediscover the beauty and lesson of the song.
Bahay kubo, kahit munti,
ang halaman duon ay sari-sari.
Singkamas at talong,
Sigarilyas at mani.
Sitaw, bataw, patani.
Kundol, patola, upo't kalabasa.
At saka meron pa,
Labanos, mustasa.
Sibuyas, kamatis,
Bawang at luya.
Sa paligid-ligid ay puno ng linga.
These are main features of the song.
· There are eighteen (18) plants, which are indigenous, mostly native species/varieties. (biodiversity)
· Many of the plants have medicinal values and are effective home remedies for common ailments (luya, sibuyas, bawang).
· The four kinds of vegetables are represented: leafy (mustasa), fruit (kamatis, talong, kalabasa), root (labanos, singkamas), seed (linga, patani, mani).
· Spices and condiments are included in the list (linga, luya, bawang)
· The plants have different planting and harvesting schedules, thus enhancing whole year round supply of vegetables, and the use of resources and family labor.
· The plants have different growing types or habits which means they occupy specific places and have space allocations. (viny, herb, bush).
· Nutrition-wise they provide the basic requirements for growing up and good health.
· The ambiance projected by the scene is green, tranquil, clean, shady and cool (environment-friendly).
· The garden exudes a feeling of self-sufficiency and offers a potential for livelihood.
· Simplicity is the key to a contented life (with least energy consumption, and amenities).
· Such a scene expands the imagination to include a backyard fishpond, chicken coop, orchard trees and ornamental plants, among others – all of these contribute to the enrichment of the Bahay Kubo, without modifying its basic concept and principle.
Folk wisdom tells us how good it is to live simply and naturally, eat properly, stay young, healthy and active, save and earn money, depend less on energy and imported goods, and enjoy being at home with the family. Bahay Kubo takes us closer to nature, to appreciate our culture, and leads us to the inner calling for peace, quiet and joy.~
Bahay Kubo is evolving to suit with simple, healthy and happy living - and safety from the onslaught of current pandemic. Upper photo, a cozy native home in Floridablanca, Pampanga (photo by the author); modern bahay kubo version, photo from the Internet.
Homesite Plan
0019.JPG)
In effect, this Homesite model becomes a model farm, a Homestead - one that has economic and ecological attributes that characterize the concept of sustainable productivity cum aesthetics and educational values. ~
Part 8 - Farming is a Way of Living, a Mode of Life
Dr Abe V. Rotor
Farming - A Way of Living in acrylic by AV Rotor AVR
“Farming is a way of living,” says the dean of farm management in the Philippines, Dr Felix D. Maramba, quoting Eugene Devenport who said that farming is not only a business, but a mode of life. “Sometimes the business is the prominent feature, so successful that life seems to run on one long sweet song. Sometimes the business runs so low that life is a bitter struggle.”
The farm and the family home is intertwined; in fact they are one.
Anything that affects the farm as a business also affects directly as a home. The farm operator is the head of the household and the bulk of the farm work is done by the members of the family. The farmer is the farmer 24 hours a days, on weekdays as well as on Sundays and Holidays.
The children are brought up in close contact with nature. They develop an appreciation of the manifestations of the Creator through living things and their order. The farm boy does not have to wait until he is grown up before he can work and share family responsibilities. He is brought up early in the family business. In this way he will learn the value of industry and a sense of proprietorship early in life. The work habits and resourcefulness developed by farm children are kept throughout their lives.
This old school of Dean Maramba may not be the model progressive farmers are looking for today, but definitely the better farmer is the entrepreneur who grew up with farming and pursued training in technology and farm management, and has gain the confidence and skills in transforming the traditional concept of a farm into an agribusiness and therefore, he has a better chance in dealing with the complexities of world of the agriculture and business.
Make the correct decisions in farming.
Farming is no easy task. It is full of decisions - decisions based on socio-economic principles, and guided by rules of conduct and natural laws and of society. These are 10 guidelines in decision making.
1. Surplus labor resources of typically large rural families should be directed to labor-intensive projects, such as integrated farming.
2. Hillside or upland agriculture requires the cultivation of permanent crops, preferably through mixed cropping, such as intercropping of coconuts with orchard trees and annual crops.
3. Coastal and river swamplands should be preserved as wildlife sanctuaries, and should be managed as an ecosystem, rather than an agricultural venture.
4. Wastes can be recycled and converted into raw materials of another enterprise. Farm wastes and byproducts of processing can be processed biologically into methane, organic fertilizer, and biomass for vermiculture.
5. Productivity of small farms can be increased through pyramidal or storey farming. Batangas and Cavite farmers are well known for storied multiple cropping.
6. Poor soils can be rehabilitated through natural farming, such as green manuring, crop rotation and use of organic fertilizers, all integrated in the farming system. Corn-peanut, rice-mungo are popular models of crop rotations.
7. Cottage industries are built on agriculture, guided by profitability and practical technology. It is time to look at the many agro-industries, from food processing to handicrafts.
8. Tri-commodity farming maximizes utilization of resources, such as having an orchard, planting field crops, and raising fish and livestock on one farm.
9. Cooperative farming is the solution to economics of scale, these to include multipurpose and marketing cooperatives of farmers and entrepreneurs.
10. Since the number of days devoted to farming is only one-third of the whole year, livelihood outside of farming should be developed. Like a sari-sari store, a small farm cannot afford to have too many hands. Other opportunities should be tapped outside of farming by other members of the family.
Get rid of waste by utilizing them.
Agricultural byproducts make good animal feeds, as follows:
• Rice straw, corn stovers and sugarcane tops, the most common crop residues in the tropics, contain high digestible nutrients, and provide 50% of the total ration of cattle and carabaos.
• Rice bran and corn bran are the most abundant general purpose feed that provides 80 percent of nutritional needs of poultry, hogs and livestock, especially when mixed with copra meal which is richer in protein than imported wheat bran (pollard).
• Cane molasses is high in calorie value. Alternative supplemental feeds are kamote vines for hogs and pineapple pulp and leaves for cattle.
Here is a simple feed formula for cattle: Copra meal 56.5 kg; rice bran (kiskisan or second class cono bran) 25kg; molasses 15kg; Urea (commercial fertilizer grade, 45%N) 2.0kg; salt 1.0kg; and bone meal 0.5kg. Weight gain of a two-year old Batangas cattle breed fed with this formulation is 0.56 kg on the average,
These are byproducts which have potential feed value: These are byproducts or wastes in the processing of oil, starch, fish, meat, fruit and vegetables. The abundance of agricultural by-products offers ready and cheap feed substitutes with these advantages.
• It cuts down on feed costs,
• reduces the volume on imported feed materials,
• provides cheaper source of animal protein,
• provides employment and livelihood, and
• keeps the environment clean and in proper balance.
Protect nature through environment-friendly technology.
One example is the use of rice hull ash to protects mungbeans from bean weevil. Burnt rice hull (ipa) contains silica crystals that are microscopic glass shards capable of penetrating into the conjunctiva of the bean weevil, Callosobruchus maculatus. Once lodged, the crystal causes more damage as the insect moves and struggles, resulting in infection and desiccation, and ultimately death.
This is the finding of Ethel Ni̱a Catahan in her masteral thesis in biology at the University of Santo Tomas. Catahan tested two types of rice hull ash, One is partly carbonized (black ash) and the other oven-burned (white ash). Both were applied independently in very small amount as either mixed with the beans or as protectant placed at the mouth of the container. In both preparations and methods, mungbeans Рand other beans and cereals, for that matter Рcan be stored for as long as six months without being destroyed by this Coleopterous insect.
The bean weevil is a cosmopolitan insect whose grub lives inside the bean, eating the whole content and leaving only the seed cover at the end of its life cycle. When it is about to emerge the female lays eggs for the next generation. Whole stocks of beans may be rendered unfit not only for human consumption, but for animal feeds as well. It is because the insect leaves a characteristic odor that comes from the insect’s droppings and due to fungal growth that accompanies infestation. There are many kinds of vegetables you can choose
for backyard and homelot gardening.
Let’s aim at unifying agriculture and ecology into agro-ecology. This is what practical farming is all about. ~
Part 9 - Green Revolution in our Postmodern Era
- Stem Cell Farming (SCF), the latest.
- Farming of GMO plants and animals
- Single Cell Protein (SCP) farming
- Hydroponics and aeroponics
- Natural and Indigenous Farming
Here are ten scenarios on the current trend of agriculture:
1. Stem cell farming will ignite rage and ethico-moral controversy. What with the wild thought of human stem cell hamburger!
2. GMO farming has stirred worldwide controversy since its early stage. Worldwide, countries and organizations are calling for its restriction, if not total ban.
3. Genetic engineering has given rise to a new and most destructive form of pollution to the living world - Genetic Pollution, which is destroying the integrity of natural gene pools of plants, animals, and microorganisms.
4. Genetic pollution spreads through pollination in plants and mating in animals, albeit induced mutation. GM plants can pollute whole fields. The mechanism is true to animals, consequently populations. There is no way of stop genetic pollution once it has set in, unlike conventional pollution.
5. Farming the sea will continue with harmful ecological consequences. Like deforestation on land, marine vegetation, from mangrove to seaweeds and sea grasses will greatly suffer, even as the cultivation of seaweeds like Eucheuma and Calerpa, is now a lucrative industry.
5. Farming the sea will continue with harmful ecological consequences. Like deforestation on land, marine vegetation, from mangrove to seaweeds and sea grasses will greatly suffer, even as the cultivation of seaweeds like Eucheuma and Calerpa, is now a lucrative industry.
6. Fish farming of marine and freshwater species has expanded into off shore floating cages and plantation-size fish pens. Wild species in captivity proved to be successful in groupers, mullets, and lately, the salmon which has virtually lost its homing instinct through genetic manipulation.
7. Hydroponics (soiless farming) and aeroponics (farming on multi-storey buildings) continue to "bring agriculture into the city," as more and more people move into urban centers.
7. Hydroponics (soiless farming) and aeroponics (farming on multi-storey buildings) continue to "bring agriculture into the city," as more and more people move into urban centers.
8. Home gardening and backyard orchards are back with the objectives of recycling, self-sufficiency and sanitation, not to mention aesthetic beauty. This trend goes hand in hand with the revival of traditional societies, as people are tired living in the city.
9. People are becoming conscious of their health by avoiding chemically grown plants and animals, aware of the harmful effects of chemical residues, "Frankenfood" (GMOs), toxic metals and antibiotic residues, among others.
10. Wild food plants like Amaranthus, Portulaca, Corchorus and Mollogo have found their way to the dining table and market. So with many native varieties of fruits and vegetables on one hand, and native breeds of animals and poultry, on the other.
9. People are becoming conscious of their health by avoiding chemically grown plants and animals, aware of the harmful effects of chemical residues, "Frankenfood" (GMOs), toxic metals and antibiotic residues, among others.
10. Wild food plants like Amaranthus, Portulaca, Corchorus and Mollogo have found their way to the dining table and market. So with many native varieties of fruits and vegetables on one hand, and native breeds of animals and poultry, on the other.
Aeroponics, farming in the city
Acknowledgement: Internet Photos; Living with Nature AVRotor
Part 10 - Odaira's Yojigen Postulate
(Four-dimensional integrated process in agribusiness)
Dr Abe V Rotor
Two products - Basi and Sukang Iloko - are produced in one enterprise.
Wine, wine, wine - but all made with the same process worldwide.Wine making is universal through yeast fermentation, hence wine comes in different sources and brands - cane sugarcane, grapes, rice, corn, and many kinds of fruits - chico, guava, cashew, duhat, mango, pineapple, orange, etc. It is the same principle in beer making.
The second stage after wine is produced is acetification. Wine becomes sour (vin-egar) and turns into vinegar. Both wine and vinegar can be integrated into one enterprise. A third product is nata de coco. Another constitute the residues and spent must in wine fermentation which is converted to animal feeds.
There is really no waste if we follow Odaira's Yojigen. Actually his postulates are as old as agriculture - way back in the Fertile Crescent some 10,000 years ago. Odaira's great contribution is the revival of a traditional knowledge and skill put to practice in the light of tightening economy and endangered environment, and taking down to the grassroots the application of his postulates.
The long search for more efficient production systems may end where biology, ecology and agriculture converge and complement one another. Biology provides the principles for understanding life; agriculture applies such principles in the production of crops and animals; while ecology establishes the environment-friendly conditions.
This complementarity concept has led this author to the work of a Japanese scientist, Keihichi Odaira, who is the proponent of a four-dimensional process called Yojigen. In a capsule, this theory is made up of four pillars, namely
1. Take advantage of living creatures as producing machines.
2. Look for more than one product from a single process.
3. Take advantage of any material as a source for the next process.
4. Remember that the value of a given process can be greater than the sum of its parts.
Over the years, this writer has witnessed Odaira's Yojigen apply his theories on agriculture, reviving the old school of Farming, the Natural Way. Let us look at its application under Philippine conditions.
Take advantage of the functions of the living creatures as producing machines.
Plants grow and produce food by photosynthesis, a function of both genetic and environmental factors. This means that a potentially high yielding crop can be enhanced by favorable agro-climatic conditions. This is the principle of plant breeding and agronomy, so with animal husbandry.
In agronomy, time and space elements are crucial. Proper crop sequences and rotations take advantage of this principle. Wherever feasible, rice is often followed by cash crops like corn, legume and vegetables. When a farmer decides to practice crop rotation, he is able to identify the proper technology involved, as well as market suitable crops.
As producers, livestock animals should be maintained only during the most economical period in their life cycle. For example, pigs are kept from six to seven months, attaining a weight of around 80 kilos. After this period, the feed conversion ratio becomes economically inefficient. This is true with cattle raised and fattened for not more than three years. For poultry, marketing is programmed with both feed efficiency ratio and the desired weight and size of the broiler.
The principle of inter-cropping follows this postulate. Banana is intercropped with coconut in Quezon and Leyte. Coconut-banana-vegetables are combined on upland farms in Cavite and Camarines Norte, while coconut-lanzones-coffee is common in Laguna.
These schemes illustrate the maximization of plant function through proper combination and sequencing. Other examples illustrate the application of this assumption are the following:
5. Combined rice and fish culture in Central Luzon.
6. Integrated corn production and beef cattle fattening in Mindanao.
7. Upland agriculture or KABSAKA in Iloilo, combining
two or more upland crops on a given piece of land.
8. Corn and peanut intercropping in Isabela.
9. Ipil-ipil-black pepper-coffee intercropping in Batangas and Laguna.
The value of a given process can be greater than the sum of its parts. As a common practice, farmers and homesteaders plant cover crops such as kudzu (Pueraria javanica), Centrosema pubescens and giant spineless Mimosa to suppress obnoxious weeds on ranches and orchards. Cover crops, aside from being effective in controlling weeds, is also forage for cattle and other large animals. Their residues, when incorporated with the soil, add to its fertility. It also reduces the rate of evaporation of soil moisture, thus controlling soil erosion and loss of soil nutrients.
Through effective weed control, the farmer has a better chance of meeting his farming schedules, while reducing the risk of brush fire. Conserving soil moisture, especially when rainfall is sufficient enhances seed germination and survival. Beneficial soil organisms thrive best in soil with high organic matter. These include the earthworm and nitrogen-fixing bacteria that help maintain a good crop stand.
Here’s another example to illustrate this principle. The idea of burning is to get rid of farm wastes quickly. But by burning, the potential nutrient value of the straw, both as feed and as a source of organic matter, is lost. Rice straw is very useful to farmers as mulch, for mushroom production, and as well as composting material.
Many advantages are derived from these practices. First, mulching increases crop yield. It also doubles the production of garlic and onions. Mushroom can be a lucrative business, while composting contributes to soil fertility. Crops grown on soil with high organic matter do not only produce higher yields but also have higher food value.
This author would like to add a fifth postulate to Odaira's Yojigen.
Capitalize on the natural qualities of living things in their respective environments.
We know of certain natural properties of organisms in their indigenous locations. The sweetest mangoes grow in Zambales, the sweetest lanzones in Paete (Laguna), the largest and juiciest pineapples are found in Bukidnon. No bangus (milkfish) anywhere can beat the Bonoan (Dagupan, Pangasinan) breed. Sarangani (Mindanao) ranchers boast of their beef as among the best-tasting.
Benguet vegetables, like lettuce, cabbages and cauliflower, are distinctly superior over those grown on the lowland areas. Garlic grows best in the Ilocos region, bulb onions in Bongabong (Nueva Ecija), kapeng barako in Batangas, and peanuts in Jones (Isabela).
By analyzing Yojigen, one is led to know, in simple and discreet ways, the many gifts of nature. ~
Part 12 - Homeostasis - Dynamic Balance of Nature
Homeostasis refers to dynamic equilibrium, the ability of certain organisms or systems to maintain long term balance in spite of changes taking place in the environment over time. Here are some agents of Nature that help bring about such dynamic balance.
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog
1. Rhizobium bacteria convert atmospheric Nitrogen into nitratefor the use of plants. Note tubercles in lower photo where the
beneficial bacteria reside.
2. A host of soil insects, principally crickets and grubs, was
responsible in toppling this tree. Caliraya Lake, Laguna.
4. Foliose lichen grows and breaks down the lignin of wood.Parks and Wildlife Nature Center, QC
5. Moss builds soil from rock, an example of biological weathering.Calaruega Retreat Center, Alfonso, Cavite
6. Termites eat wood with the aid of protozoa that live intheir stomach, an ideal example of symbiosis.
7. Termite mound covers a tree stump, which ultimately become soil. Parks and Wildlife Nature Center, Quezon City.
8. Mushrooms grow on plant residues, and convert them intohumus which fertilizes the crop. Antipolo, Rizal
9. Shelf mushrooms grow on dead wood, eventually convertingit into soil that piles up on the forest oor. Mt. Makiling, Laguna
.jpg)
10. Rot fungi blanket the dead limb of Ficus tree.
UST Manila.
11. Drynaria Fern and acacia tree in a state of mutualism
(symbiosis) favorable to the longevity of both symbionts.
12, Nymphaea and Cuperus are Nature's water purifiers, now used in
bioremediation - the cleaning of polluted bodies of fresh water.
(Detail of Mural by AVR)
13. Ants are efficient predators of a wide range of pests.
They maintain a favorable balance of the food web and ecosystem.
14. Garden slug feeds of algae and organic waste - it is Nature's janitor.
(symbiosis) favorable to the longevity of both symbionts.
12, Nymphaea and Cuperus are Nature's water purifiers, now used in
bioremediation - the cleaning of polluted bodies of fresh water.
(Detail of Mural by AVR)
They maintain a favorable balance of the food web and ecosystem.
14. Garden slug feeds of algae and organic waste - it is Nature's janitor.
15. Yeast is ubiquitous, Nature's agent of fermentation. Sugar is converted
into ethanol and acetic acid, which ultimately break into elements.
Lesson, Former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) 738 DZRB AM Band,
Part 12 - Q & A
Follow-up Assignment
Trivia: Who is Who in the field of agriculture and life science in the Philippines
1. If there is a Luther Burbank, the American plant wizard, who is our own in the Philippines (___________________________, foremost plant breeder of the Philippines)
2. The greatest and most popular authority of medicinal plants in the Philippines (___________________________, Medicinal Plants of the Philippines)
3. Filipino scientist who occupied the highest position in the UN FAO? (________________________, Regional chief of UN-FAO for Asia and the Pacific)
4. Her name is an institution in children health care, founder of Children”s Hospital and inventor of nursery incubation chamber, among other invention (___________________)
5. His discovery of the cause of cadang-cadang disease of coconut lead to effective control of the disease threatening to wipeout the coconut industry in the Philippines (________________________________)
6. First director or International Institute for Rural Reconstruction, author of Alternative Medicine, anti-smoking in public places, school and advertisement. (_____________________________)
7. Man behind food self-sufficiency, M-99 that led the Philippine among the top rice producers in the 70s and 80s. (_______________________, Secretary of agriculture)
8. First Filipino allergologist, discovered a syndrome named after him, internationally adapted in hospitals and medical schools around the world, served as executive secretary of presidents Quezon and Osmeña, discovered orchids also named after him. (___________________________).
9. Founder of the Nursing profession, brought into the profession respectability and dignity, service and selflessness, (_________________________, nationality ________________)
10. The greatest woman who ever lived in our times - epitome of love, compassion, faith, selflessness and dedication, a living saint (though less popular than Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana, In fact there were far less number people who paid their respects to her than Princess Diana who died and was buried at the same time.) _______________________ of ________________.
Part 2: 1. Nemesio Mendiola 2.Eduardo Quisumbing 3.Dioscorro Umali 4. Fe del Mundo 5. Gerardo Ocfemia 6.Juan Flavier 7. Arturo Tanco Jr 8.Arturo B Rotor 9. Florence Nightingale 10.Mother Teresa of Calcutta
1. Let’s make a Lazy Man’s Garden at Home. What are plants considered literally tanim ng tamad, a syndrome many Filipinos fall into, a little bit of every thing (tingi-tingi), ningas kogon, makakalimutin, kulang sa tiyaga, and mapabaya’: papaya, malunggay, siling katuray, ube, patola, kondol, upo, alugbati, talinum, patani, batao, segidillas, kumpitis.
2. Ano-ano ang mga halaman na nakakain na hindi itinatanim. (What edible plants simply grow spontaneously)
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