In The Cordilleras, Samy Lang-Ay Shows Power Of Learning To Decrease Insect Pests And Increase Harvests Naturally – And Increase Income Naturally!

I am reading Alyssa Dawn Alalag’s “DA-CAR Press Release 25-28,” a feature story posted on Facebook 21 Feb 2025: “Samy Lang-ay: Leading The Way (To) Sustainable Farming And Knowledge Sharing.”

I learn that Samy has been aggressively farming since the last 25 years. “In the … Cordilleras, one farmer’s journey reflects the transformative power of dedication, innovation, and support, “ writes Miss Alyssa, “a seasoned farmer…Today, he is not just a farmer but a mentor and advocate for sustainable agricultural practices, making a significant impact on his community and beyond.” I note especially: “advocate for sustainable agricultural practices.” Much thanks, Samy!

Miss Alyssa says, “Samy Lang-ay’s journey shows the power of learning, sharing, and using the right tools. With his dedication to sustainable farming, Samy is leading the way for a better future for farmers.”

Samy’s farm, located at Sto Tomas, Baguio City, produces an impressive variety of crops: broccoli, cucumbers, Sultan peppers, California Peppers, celery, and strawberries. Ms Alyssa says, “His diverse crop choices are an indication (of) his adaptability.” I say, in addition, “Lang-ay’s variety of crops helps reduce pest infestation by reducing pest population because of food competition” among the pests.

Moreover, he practices crop rotation to avoid pest and disease infestations and prevent issues like clubroot, ensuring the health and productivity of the soil.

“One of the key factors that have helped Samy improve his farming practices is the support from the Department of Agriculture (DA) through the farmer’s association he leads. Over the years, Samy has received via DA multiple interventions that have significantly improved his farming. One is the greenhouse.” This has “allowed him to control the environment for his crops.” There is also an irrigation tank. There is also a tractor, shared with the San Andreas Strawberry Growers Association.

“It’s the eco-friendly pest control interventions that Samy speaks most highly of, the Lacewings and Metarhizium. Lacewings, often referred to as “the farmer’s friend,” are a natural predator of pests, feeding on aphids, mites, and other harmful insects. These flying insects belong to the family Chrysopidae and have proven to be incredibly effective in controlling pest populations in a non-toxic, organic manner.

Meanwhile, Metarhizium, a genus of fungi, is another biocontrol agent that has shown promising results in killing pests, particularly harmful insects. Both of these natural solutions have reduced Samy’s reliance on harmful chemicals, ensuring his crops are healthier and his farm more sustainable.

Samy emphasizes the importance of promoting Lacewings and Metarhizium to other farmers, urging them to consider alternatives to harmful chemical pesticides.

“Many farmers don’t know about lacewings or Metarhizium (organisms that) are much safer and more effective than using insecticides,” Samy explains.

Ms Alyssa says, “Samy Lang-ay’s journey shows the power of learning, sharing, and using the right tools. With his dedication to sustainable farming, Samy is leading the way for a better future for farmers.” I agree. Not only in the Cordilleras, but elsewhere in the Philippines where you have mountainous areas being farmed.@517

EDSA People Power Revolution Was An Incomplete Revolution For Filipinos – It Drove Out Marcos But Not Poverty And Inequality!

I was one of those who earlier hesitated to join the marchers at EDSA during those February days in 1986 when people collected at EDSA to show support to Juan Ponce Enrile who had declared publicly his hate against his erstwhile boss and PH President Ferdinand Marcos (FM). Monday, pass. Tuesday, pass. Wednesday, pass. Thursday, pass. Friday I went, 25 February – and the Marcoses, hurriedly left the next day! Was it me? It was the EDSA people, about a million of them total. No, I did not do anything spectacular, but the Marcoses knew what was “good” for them at the time – they flew out of danger! (top image twibon.app)

And Corazon “Cory” Aquino became PH President. And the ladies applauded. And mostly the Marcos boys, whoever they were, lost their grip on political power. And we Filipinos applauded.

What else? In the last 39 years:
Did the lives of Filipinos improve much? Nah!
Did the poor farmers become a little rich? Nah!
Did PH politics go from bad to better? No, still the same! Or is badder?

Via Paterno R Esmaquel II, the news today is that “Top Catholic Schools Declare EDSA Holiday, Defy Marcos ‘Downgrade’” (17 Feb 2025, rappler.com):

“Top Catholic schools in the Philippines declared a non-working day on February 25, the 39th anniversary of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, even if the Marcos government downgraded it to a special working day.”

Not simply to “defy Marcos downgrade” of the EDSA Revolution – What we need to do today is wage another kind of EDSA revolution – the digital kind! Let’s bring out the necessary knowledge wherever.

Like, I am an agriculturist (UPLB ’65, BS Ag Edu); I say, to help the poor farmers raise themselves from poverty to prosperity, they must stop practicing expensive Chemical Agriculture (CA) and start practicing inexpensive Regenerative Agriculture (RA). Immediately!

RA is not from the wild blue yonder – it has been talked & written about since Robert Rodale talked about it in 1989.

What are the RA practices again? I will never tire repeating 13 in my RA list: (1) Cover Cropping, (2) Crop Rotation, (3) Farm Crops + Tree Crops (Agroforestry), (4) Green Manuring, (5) Intercropping, (6) Multiple Cropping, (7) No-Till Farming, (8) Organic Fertilization, (9) Ratooning, (10) Rotational Grazing, (11) “Three Sisters” Planting, (12) Trap Cropping, and (13) Trash Mulching.

Except that the spread of RA among Filipino farmers has been limited. Why? In the first place, the knowledge of RA is limited – not even my alma mater, UP Los Baños (I’m BSA ’65, Ag Edu) is talking and/or taking up in class about RA!

Knowledge limited – What a waste of People Power!

I wrote 24 Nov 2023: “Your Garden Of Eden Is The Green You Cultivate & The Joy You Harvest From – Frank A Hilario” (“Creative Thinkering, blogspot.com). Note the title: Your garden of Eden could be anywhere!

To save the Earth, to save ourselves: Everyone should find one’s own green to grow! (bottom image: sg.images.search.yahoo.com) @517

Happy Valentine's Day! 😍😘💕

I found mid-morning today, 14 February 2025, in Manila, this: “200+ Valentines Day Wishes And Messages For Everyone” created by WishesMsg (wishesmsg.com). First, my selected 13 best wishes: (image from Pixabay, pixabay.com)

1, Happy Valentine’s Day my love! You mean the world to me, and I will forever love you!

2. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. Happy Valentine’s Day, my happiness. ❤️

3. Happy Valentine’s Day to my beloved. Thanks for coming into my life and making it special forever.

4, Happy Valentine's Day. Wishing you a lovely and cheerful Valentine’s Day. May all the love that you spread find its way back to you.

5. Without you I am nothing. With you I am everything. Thank you for being my everything. Happy Valentine’s Day ❤️

6. You are all I ever wanted and I’m so glad you are mine. Wishing the sweetest, happiest day to my forever Valentine!

7. Happy Valentine’s day to you and your family. May you celebrate love not only this one day but throughout the year.

8. Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone! May this day overflow with all the love your heart can hold. Sending warm hugs and best wishes to you all!

9. Life without love is like a world without any sunshine. May your life never run out of the love that you deserve. Happy Valentine’s Day.

10. You are the reason behind my smiles, my laughter and my happiness. Happy Valentine’s Day, my love!

11. You are the only flower that will bloom forever in my heart. Happy Valentine’s Day My Love ❤️

12. Life without love is like a world without any sunshine. May your life never run out of the love that you deserve. Happy Valentine’s Day.

13. Happy Valentine’s Day to someone who makes my heart smile every single day. I’m grateful for you.

Why did I select not 10 but 13, an unlucky number? To wake you up to LOVE! You don’t love out of luck – you love out of love!

From me: “Now, how do you make your special someone happy this Valentine’s Day?”

The answer to my question depends on you, whether it’s a gift, having sex, saying hello, getting married, whatever. There are countless ways.

But the best answer to my question is this:

Love someone, or them, all the days of your life!

And how do you do that? Here are some ways (WishesMsg):

Sharing heartfelt Valentine’s Day wishes with your partner, family, or friends can make them feel truly special. Write one of these messages on a card, send a sweet text, or share a photo or video with a loving message on social media. It’s a simple way to make your loved ones feel appreciated and loved.

From me: Give a gift, any gift. Send hugs & kisses. Wish someone outside of family a Happy Valentine’s Day.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Why? From that long list of WishesMsg:

“Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone! Love is the most beautiful thing in the world. So let’s spread the love!”@517

Philippines -- How Our Low-Level Farmers Can Have High-Level Incomes Without Billions Of Pesos Of Government Support!

Former PH Economic Chief Cielito F Habito writes about disappointing national news on jobs (“Our Educated Jobless,” opinion.inquirer.net). rather inspired, I want to write about uplifting news on farmers even without government support in terms of financing! (image from Bigstock, biostock)

Also, in his 11 Feb 2025 No Free Lunch above, Mr Habito says:

“Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have increased by 319,000 since 2020, reflected in the increase in employers in own family farm or business. This is less than ideal because entrepreneurship could arguably be superior to wage employment, as it is about creating jobs, rather than merely finding a job.”

I am now re/thinking of farming as entrepreneurship, with a different perspective of being “recreating a job.” Read on!

“Entrepreneurship is the ability and readiness to develop, organize and run a business enterprise, along with any of its uncertainties in order to make a profit” (undated, Karthik, BYJU’S). With that definition, I am now singularly looking at farming as entrepreneurship: running an enterprise, meeting uncertainties, going after profit – that describes ideal farming perfectly!

Now, I’m thinking of any farmer cultivating his field, planting his crop, caring for the plants – all for family income beyond bare necessities. I say:

In the Philippines, if the farmer can save thousands of pesos growing his crop, already he is a winner, an entrepreneur extraordinary!

But how? My 2-word answer is: “Regenerative Agriculture.” RA begins and ends without those expensive chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides – as of my last count, totalling PH10,000 plus!

Here is my list of RA:

(1) Cover Cropping, (2) Crop Rotation, (3) Farm Crops + Tree Crops (Agroforestry), (4) Green Manuring, (5) Intercropping, (6) Multiple Cropping, (7) No-Till Farming, (8) Organic Fertilization, (9) Ratooning, (10) Rotational Grazing, (11) “Three Sisters” Planting, (12) Trap Cropping, and (13) Trash Mulching.

How do you like that? You begin your farming saving thousands of pesos while you are still beginning to cultivate your field. Any of the 13 RA practices above will assure you that! 13? My favorite Internet source says 13 is a “prime and lucky number” (Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org).

I love the image from Bigstock above; it is as if it is trying to tell me: “Small beginnings are great beginnings!” (Thank you, Bigstock!)

Yes, any of the 13 in the RA list above is a small beginning, but each is perfect for a farmer who starts little but dreams big. Man is all dust, which underscores his potential for greatness.

From Bible Hub (biblehub.com):

Creation and Humanity: The Bible begins with the creation narrative, where God forms man from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). This humble beginning of humanity underscores the potential for greatness when infused with the breath of God.

So, why not man begin to create his own “potential for greatness” by infusing his farming with the breath of just a little innovation?

Calling all farmers! Especially in my country the Philippines – minus chemical fertilizers & pesticides, Regenerative Agriculture is your huge potential for profit!@517

How Smart DA Can Spend 2025 Budget Of PH 200 Billion? I Have A Million-Dollar Suggestion!

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I’m reading the news from the Department of Agriculture (DA): “DA Chief Pushes (For) Smart Investments, High-Return Projects In Agri Budget” (DA Press Office, 10 Feb 2025, da.gov.ph). The total budget for the DA is PH200 Billion (“House OKs 2025 DA, NIA Budgets,” Anon, DA Press Office, DA).

PH200 Billion! I love it that the PH government can afford to supply the DA with a very rich source of investments.

Now the reality: PH has 6 million ha of farms (according to a Manila Standard Business report dated 30 Dec 2024, manilastandard.net).

I will initially say that the farmer will save thousands of pesos (and the government will save millions of pesos) if each farmer borrower employed any of the following cropping methods (alphabetized):

(1) Cover Cropping,

(2) Crop Rotation,

(3) Farm Crops + Tree Crops (Agroforestry),

(4) Green Manuring,

(5) Intercropping,

(6) Multiple Cropping,

(7) No-Till Farming,

(8) Organic Fertilization,

(9) Ratooning,

(10) Rotational Grazing,

(11) “Three Sisters” Planting,

(12) Trap Cropping, and

(13) Trash Mulching.

That personal list of mine I refer to as “Regenerative Agriculture,” which is defined by Julia Friedberg (Regeneration International, April 06, 2021, regenerationinternational.org) thus:

“Regenerative agriculture (is) a set of farming practices that return(s) nutrients to the earth and rehabilitate(s) entire ecosystems, rather than deplet(es) them.”

Why the great savings? Because in any of the 13 in the above RA list, there is no need for fertilizers and pesticides – and still the farmer will get the optimum harvest! Nota bene DA!

From optimum harvest, RA will give the farmer optimum income! Why because the farmer will use only natural methods of farming. Optimum total costs. No expensive fertilizers and pesticides.

Again, from the above DA news report:

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P Tiu Laurel Jr stressed the need to prioritize projects with strong, sustainable returns as the Department of Agriculture (DA) develops its multiyear budget plan.

Sec Tiu Laurel Jr, natural methods of farming can only mean sustainable returns!

Speaking at a recent two-day budget planning session, he urged DA officials to allocate limited resources strategically, focusing on projects with an internal rate of return of 12%-14% per year or a payback period of no more than seven years to ensure bankability and profitability.

A payback period of no more than seven years. To ensure bankability and profitability. Any RA practice will give you both!

… Sec Tiu Laurel also called for diversifying agricultural activities to strengthen the sector’s resilience…

Precisely! None of the 13 RA practices listed above is limited to a single crop.

Most importantly: None of the RA 13 requires neither expensive chemical fertilizer nor expensive chemical pesticides – RA is all-natural.

Note well: In the current agriculture scheme, alone, with only 1 chemical fertilizer, the total cost is already PH2,969.92/bag urea, x 4 bags = +PH11,000 (Catherine Talavera, 08 June 2022, philstar.com). High costs – no wonder millions of Filipino farmers are poor!

So: How to help the farmers enrich themselves with their farming – that should be the highest priority of the DA!@517

PH 513B For 2025: “Spend Funds Wisely For Future Generations,” BBM Says. How To Spend Huge 200B DA Funds Wisely? We Need Vision – Ask Ex-Sec William Dar!

Above, on 30 Jan 2025, Luisa Cabaro says, “Marcos Tells Gov’t Workers To Spend Funds Wisely For Future Generations,” Inquirer (newsinfo.inquirer.net). BBM spoke at the ceremony in Pasay City on Friday, where he encouraged the 661 Development Academy of the Philippines graduates to be “stewards of transparency and good governance (as) Filipinos deserve no less than our utmost diligence, accountability, and integrity.”

Excellent! our President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr is looking ahead! (images from Inquirer & thestrategystory.com).

The Question is: “How do you spend PH 513B wisely?” Now, to spend wisely, first you have to plan.

As an agriculturist, I’m much interested in what the head of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Francis Tiu Laurel Jr is planning on how to spend that PH 200 Billion for 2025. The DA needs all the help it can get! I suggest to call in former DA Head William Dar – because the DA needs Vision, Mission and Strategy, and he has it. (See my article “William Dar's 8 Paradigms For PH New Thinking For Agriculture,” 26 Aug 2019, Communication for Development, ComDev). We need new thinking to solve old problems of PH agriculture!

Planning – The current DA has none of these: Vision, Mission, Strategy.

Like: What will the DA do with 3 million farmers who are poor? How to get them out of poverty?

What is the DA going to do with greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture that contributes more to the amount of greenhouse gases that generate more dangerous Climate Change?

I can recommend to the DA the practices collective called Regenerative Agriculture (RA) that are farmer-friendly; here is my alphabetical list:

(1) Cover Cropping, (2) Crop Rotation, (3) Farm Crops + Tree Crops (Agroforestry), (4) Green Manuring, (5) Intercropping, (6) Multiple Cropping, (7) No-Till Farming, (8) Organic Fertilization, (9) Ratooning, (10) Rotational Grazing, (11) “Three Sisters” Planting, (12) Trap Cropping, and (13) Trash Mulching.

A good look at RA when it comes to soil fertility is that each practice helps to add and/or keep the natural fertility of the soil.

Those practices are actually farmer-friendly; many farmers know some of them already. It’s just that even the #1 Public Friend in Agriculture of PH, the DA, is not thinking beyond the current farmer practices.

The trouble with modern agriculture is that it focuses on chemical fertility and chemical control of pests & diseases. That’s your Modern Agriculture, where “modern” contributes to Farmer Poverty!

I dare say my country PH is in dire need of a Secretary of Agriculture who is from a poor family, acquainted with farming and understands the ABC that causes poverty that farmers continue to suffer. That is none other than William Dollente Dar, an Ilocano from Ilocos Norte, formerly Director General (DG) of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) based in India. He was ICRISAT DG for 3 terms until his age required retirement. But age doesn’t matter when your country calls you!@517