Pinoy Media Interruption 1 – Neglect, The Aggie Extension People Are Not Doing Their Jobs! The Urgent Need To Regenerate Pinoy Media In Handling Matters Of Agriculture Remains

Education: Here is an Indian journalist, female, un/intentionally waking up media people of all sexes in all Asian countries – Anjana Nair, Group Editor, Agriculture Today (agriculturetoday.in). She writes on “The Changing Dynamics of Agri Journalism in India” (12 May 2023, “Agricultural Extension In South Asia,” Blog 199, aesanetwork.org) – which I see applies to worldwide aggie extension efforts/non-efforts!

Ms Anjana says:

“Agriculture Extension … means ‘to expand or extend’ the work of universities beyond the campus and into the neighbouring community. It is essentially meant to transmit the practices and knowledge in agriculture to the end user – the farmers – in a language that is suitable and clear to them.”

Whatever. I know that in the Philippines, aggie extension has been neglected all these years! I know; as an alumnus of the #1 aggie university of my country, University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), and I haven’t heard or read about UPLB extension efforts to the farmers. “UPLB, let me tell you that this is extremely important today because we have 2-3 million Filipino farmers who are classified poor!”

I found out just now, from a PH “Office Of The Municipal Agriculturist” (quezon-nviscaya.gov.ph):

The Office of the Municipal Agricultur(ist) is an agency of the Philippine government responsible for the promotion of the Agriculture & Fisheries development and growth. In partnership with the Department of Agriculture, provide(s) benefits of development to the poor, especially in the rural areas. (underscoring supplied)

Beautifully said. But where is that partnership? Very sad that the “benefits of development” have not reached the 2-3 million poor farmers all over the Philippines! I have neither heard of nor seen any national program to deliver science to the farmers for them to benefit from new or verified knowledge in agriculture.

I quote Ms Anjana again:

“Journalism is the systematic and reliable dissemination of public information, public opinion and public entertainment by modern mass communication media. Agricultural journalism is a specialized branch of journalism which exclusively deals with disseminating information gathered from different sources in a presentable format through various media, such as newspapers, periodicals, radio, TV, (I)nternet, advertising, and so on. The process is elaborate and entails several phases: receiving news, writing it up in the appropriate format, editing the content, and then reporting it through the relevant media. The content, most often will be supported by photographs, and dissemination happens through newspapers, magazines, radio, television and the internet. And as agriculture bloomed and matured, the branch of agriculture journalism has also diversified.”
(Images: top, can’tfindsourceanymore; bottom, sg.images.search.yahoo.com)

I say: “Diversified media, powerful – so little media efforts for and in favor of the farmers getting out of poverty!”

We have modern communication media – I note the ubiquitous cellphone today – but we have Rip Van Winkle-kinds of aggie extensionists in the universities or in DA offices or in the municipalities! Like: Why is the office of the Municipal Agricultural Officer (MAO) not media active in extension? MAOs, be active yourselves!@517