ikeseneres

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

HOW CAN WE FIX OUR BROKEN VALUE CHAIN IN OUR AGRICULTURE? During Rome Nutrition Week 2026, IFAD President Álvaro Lario made a statement that every policymaker in the Philippines should carefully study. He reminded the world that nutrition starts long before food reaches the dining table. It starts with farmers who have access to quality inputs, adequate financing, functioning value chains, reliable infrastructure, and markets that fairly reward their hard work. Everything that Lario said applies directly to the Philippines. At the risk of stating the obvious, nutrition depends on agriculture. Without farmers, there is no food. Without food, there is no nutrition. The question is: Does our government recognize that our agricultural value chain is badly broken? Or are we pretending that the problem will somehow solve itself? The Department of Agriculture cannot fix this alone. What we need is a whole-of-government—and perhaps even a whole-of-nation—approach. Agriculture involves roads, i...