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LOCALLY MADE FARM TRACTOR COULD CHANGE THE FUTURE OF PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURE

LOCALLY MADE FARM TRACTOR COULD CHANGE THE FUTURE OF PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURE For decades, we have been asking why Filipino farmers continue to depend on imported farm machinery that is expensive to buy, costly to repair, and difficult to maintain. Today, we finally have an encouraging answer, thanks to a remarkable story reported by Eloisa Victoria Laud . The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), through its Grants-in-Aid Program, partnered with the Technological University of the Philippines Visayas (TUPV), RU Foundry, and the farming community in Bago City to develop a homegrown open-system two-wheel farm tractor that is affordable, repairable, and designed for Philippine conditions. What makes this project truly historic is not just the tractor itself, but the four-way cooperation behind it. This is an outstanding example of what can happen when the national government (DOST), the local government and farming community, the private sector, and the academe work together towar...
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WHAT ARE THE EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS TO THE SOLID WASTE PROBLEM?

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS TO THE SOLID WASTE PROBLEM? Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival has apparently found a practical solution to one of the country's biggest urban problems—the mounting cost of garbage. Is that not headline-worthy? We often dismiss garbage as something worthless, but perhaps that is exactly where we have been making our biggest mistake. What many people still call "garbage" actually contains valuable resources. Organic waste can become compost and vermicast. Plastics, metals, paper, and glass can be recycled or upcycled. What is truly worthless is only the small residual portion that cannot be reused. If we continue treating everything as garbage, we will continue throwing away money. The experience of Cebu City should serve as a wake-up call for every local government unit. By using mechanical shredders to process biodegradable waste into compost and eventually vermicast through African Night Crawler earthworms, the city reportedly reduced the a...
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HOW CAN WE OFFER CREATIVE FINANCING FOR OUR LOW INCOME FARMERS?

HOW CAN WE OFFER CREATIVE FINANCING FOR OUR LOW INCOME FARMERS? For decades, we have been hearing about government loan programs intended to help low-income farmers buy seeds, fertilizers, farm machinery and other production inputs. Yet despite all these announcements, many of our small farmers still cannot access the capital that they desperately need. Why is that? Is it because they cannot comply with the documentary requirements? Is the approval rate so low that the programs fail to reach those who need them most? If so, perhaps the problem is not the farmers but the design of the lending programs themselves. There is certainly no shortage of demand. What appears to be lacking is a financial product that truly matches the realities of farming. Banks still operate with what I call a "pawnshop mentality"—no collateral, no loan. Unfortunately, many low-income farmers till land they do not own and therefore have little or nothing to pledge. Fortunately, innovative ideas are be...
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WHAT DOES IT MEAN NOW THAT THE PALACE HAS NOTICED THE GARBAGE PROBLEM?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN NOW THAT THE PALACE HAS NOTICED THE GARBAGE PROBLEM? It is refreshing to hear a Palace spokesperson talking about something that is not political. Even more refreshing is hearing Undersecretary Claire Castro discuss an environmental issue, a topic that has rarely received sustained attention from the country's highest officials. Of course, I do not think she was merely referring to litterbugs or the sight of uncollected garbage along our streets. Her statement could very well be a signal that Malacañang is finally recognizing that the country's garbage problem has grown into a national environmental, economic and governance crisis. Many people believe the problem is that we are running out of landfill space. I see it differently. The real problem is that we never built enough sanitary landfills in the first place, while many open dumpsites continue to masquerade as compliant landfills despite violating Republic Act No. 9003, the Ecological Solid Waste Manageme...
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WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN THE POPE HUMORS THE YOUTH?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN THE POPE HUMORS THE YOUTH? A simple hand gesture may seem too trivial to deserve worldwide attention, but when it is done by the Pope himself, it becomes much more than a viral social media moment. When Pope Leo XIV responded to young people by playfully doing the now-famous "6-7" gesture, he sent a message that may prove to be more important than the gesture itself. The "6-7" trend is one of those internet memes that even many young people admit has no real meaning. It originated from social media and spread rapidly among Generation Z and Generation Alpha. Yet when the Pope returned the gesture with a smile, millions of young people around the world saw something that many of them have long hoped for—a Church willing to speak their language without compromising its faith. This raises an important question. Is this merely a lighthearted publicity moment, or is it the beginning of a renewed effort by the Catholic Church to reconnect with its yo...
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TOWARDS A NATIONAL MOVEMENT FOR ORGANIC AGRICULTURE

TOWARDS A NATIONAL MOVEMENT FOR ORGANIC AGRICULTURE At the risk of stating the obvious, organic agriculture is not just about producing food without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. It is about building healthier communities, creating sustainable livelihoods, protecting the environment, and strengthening our nation's food security. To me, this is where a genuine national movement should begin. First, organic agriculture is about growing herbs, fruits, and vegetables that are healthy to eat because they are free from harmful chemical residues. Better still, they can also become more affordable because they can be produced in our own backyards, schools, barangays, and communities. In some cases, they could even be shared freely among neighbors. Second, organic agriculture is a livelihood program. Community gardens, urban farms, and commercial organic farms can generate employment while creating opportunities for farmers, cooperatives, and small entrepreneurs. As demand for organi...
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HOW CAN WE TURN MARKET WASTE INTO FOOD SECURITY?

HOW CAN WE TURN MARKET WASTE INTO FOOD SECURITY? At the risk of stating the obvious, garbage is only garbage if we throw it away. If we recycle it properly, it becomes a valuable resource. Take our public markets for example. Studies have shown that about 60% to 80% of the solid waste generated by wet and dry markets consists of biodegradable materials such as vegetable trimmings, spoiled fruits, fish wastes, poultry wastes, and other organic matter. In some markets, the percentage could even reach 90%. Why should we continue hauling these materials to already overcrowded sanitary landfills when they could be converted into something useful? I recently learned about an interesting proposal submitted by RU Foundry and Machinery, Inc. to the City Government of Pasig. The proposal is both simple and practical. Install commercial shredders in public markets so that biodegradable wastes could immediately be processed onsite. Instead of transporting bulky wastes to landfills, the shredded ma...
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