“The Times Call For A More Expansive Notion Of Agriculture” – PH Ex-Secretary Of Agriculture William Dar, Commencement Speaker, Benguet State University

Days towards and at the end of his term as Secretary of Agriculture, I saw the full figure of William Dar on Facebook every now and then – with a happy face!

The above image is from his Facebook page, 12 July 2022, with this caption: “Liam Dar Sicada and myself enjoying the breeze and fresh air at the farm in Lingsat, Sta Maria, Ilocos Sur!” Liam is a granddaughter, and Mr Dar is a native of Santa Maria. Ilocano. As an Ilocano myself, I dare say the ilocanos are a hardy, happy race!

Mr Dar was Secretary of Agriculture from 05 Aug 2019 to 30 June 2022. The happy face is showing 12 days after an intense 29 months of accepting the problematic past, directing the chaotic present with 27 agencies of the Department of Agriculture (DA), and pointing to the promising future of Philippine agriculture. President Ferdinand“BBM” Marcos Jr has taken over the chaos as interim Secretary!

On the morning of Friday, 08 July 2022, Mr Dar was guest speaker in the 97th Commencement Exercises of his alma mater Benguet State University (BSU), which is based at La Trinidad, Benguet. At BSU, graduating with a BS Ag Edu, he had risen to Vice President for Research & Development. As he spoke, he had had behind him, among other leadership achievements, the unequalled distinction of being Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), based in India, leading ICRISAT from dead last (kulelat) to #1 among 15 international agricultural centers, including IRRI, of the CGIAR.

Speaking virtually, among other things, he said:

Agriculture saved my life. Then it gave me a new one full of intellectual promise and high-level critique.

His parents were poor they could not send him to high school. One of his uncles did – and wrote history. And so did William Dollente Dar, the one who saved ICRISAT from mediocrity!

Pertinently, to the BSU graduates, in the presence of Marita Rana Canapi, Chair of the BSU Board of Regents, and Felipe Salaing Comila, University President, among other things he said:

The times call for a more expansive notion of agriculture, one that is not saddled by the romanticized trope of overworked farmers and fishers.

Before he was appointed Secretary of Agriculture in Aug 2019, already he had his “more expansive notion of agriculture” – he brought to his office what he called “The New Thinking For Agriculture” that was imbued with “8 Paradigms” as sources of strengths for bringing PH Agriculture from Worst Class to World Class.

Mr Dar failed in rescuing PH Agriculture from Unhappy to Happy – why did they expect him to solve within 3 years the multitude of problems with a much-limited budget!?

“I see myself starting over,” Mr Dar told the BSU graduates. And I Frank A Hilario see our dear PH Agriculture having to start over. And I myself persist in proselytizing for Regenerative Agriculture – the soil itself has to regenerate its richness!@517

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lessons Learned From Roman Catholic “Father Acong” About Successfully Building Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) With Enduring Love

Image
I have been reading & rereading the book “ Father Ciriaco Alberto Sevilla, Jr – MSK Trailblazer” (242 pages, published 2010 in Lucena City, edited by Milwida S Reyes ). A 12-year-old book – is the content still relevant to come up with a new version? My answer is, “Yes!” Personally, I want the book to highlight the love for the poor parishioners that Father Acong showed, as he had single-mindedly created 400+ Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) in the far-flung villages of Quezon Province before he died Oct 2007. If that is not love for the poor, I don’t know what love is! About the BECs, Msgr Lope C Robredillo, VG, says [“An Overview Of The Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs), From The Other Side Of History , msgrlope.blogspot.com ]: The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines devotes two paragraphs to describe the BECs… “They are small communities of Christians, usually of families who gather together around the Word of God and the Eucharist.” As Roman Catholic, an edit
Read more

“Creative Freedom” – UP, Time To Replace Your Symbol Of Academic Freedom!

Image
It occurred to me today, Sunday, 16 October 2022, that changing the symbol of the University of the Philippines System (UP) is long overdue – because the Oblation (smaller but sunnier image) has ever inspired disapproval , even radicalism, and never creativity ! This is a creative person writing, self-taught in communication and in digital media – yes, I am a UP alumnus, 1965. The bigger image is my photograph (taken 29 July 2016) of the fiberglass sculptural piece of Maria Pureza Escaño , which she titles “The Rose Of Marya: Service Through Excellence” ( Maria Pureza Escaño , weebly.com ). Commissioned by the Sigma Delta Sorority , “Marya” is now a landmark at the UP Los Baños Alumni Plaza. Ms Maria says of it: Recently, Maria Pureza Escaño was handpicked by the University of the Philippines for her concept and rendition of "The Rose of Marya: Service through Excellence," an allegorical seven-foot fiber glass sculpture celebrating100 years of excellence and service to
Read more

SOLVE As A Way Of Speech & Blogging As A Way Of Write

Image
Searca Tuesday, 28 April 2020, 10:00 AM, embarks on a Southeast Asian voyage of discovering and/or uncovering pieces & sets of knowledge on food security given the global coronavirus outbreak.  It is a webinar series to “ highlight concrete actions in agriculture and rural development in Southeast Asia.” The series to be launched is called “Searca Online Learning & Virtual Engagement,” acronym SOLVE, which is Searca’s “effort to break boundaries, both physical and conceptual, to strategically disseminate just-in-time solutions.” It is ambitious, but the times call for it. Searca Director Glenn B Gregorio says of it: The new normal brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic has firmed up Searca’s resolve to embark on new modalities and use technology-mediated platforms of interactions to effectively deliver context-relevant and valuable services to its stakeholders, including farmers and the public. SOLVE is virtual but the learnings are real. Mr Gregorio said: SOLVE particularly hi
Read more