James Reid Appointed as Agriculture Ambassador

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Actor James Reid is the Philippine government's new ambassador for agriculture and agribusiness.

The newest poster boy was tapped to be DA's ambassador on food security. This is part of the agency's efforts to promote the industry to the youth.

They want kids / teenagers to get into farming. How would you encourage these people if you'll get an ambassador who isn't cool for them? The department's goal is to make farming "cool".

Bilang youth ambassador. Kinuha sya siguro dahil sa dami ng followers nya sa socmed. Para ma reach ng  agruculture yung mga kabataan kapag nagpost sya.

He can be of big help to the govt if he'll encourage people especially his fans to get involve in agricultural works and program.

Having passion of sustainability is not enough. Jusko baka makakita lang ng bulate yan, tatakbo agad. They should have chosen someone who has knowledge in agri and can “obviously” contribute to that department.

I like James as an actor, performer, and such...pero as an ambassador for AGRICULTURE and AGRIBUSINESS of all things? Like how? 

Dapat maging pogi ang mga farmers? Yun ba ang bagong campaign?  Magkano kaya budget ng DA dyan? Sana ipinamahagi nyo na lang sa mga magsasakang naghihirap.

Wow parang nagpromote ng vegan diet tos di vegetarian ganun.

May iba namang mga artista na mas bagay gawing ambassador dyan. 

Seryoso ito. Baka pagpababain mo yan sa putik ng palayan sisigaw yan ng Darna! Wala bang mas credible, reliable and knowlegeable about sa irerepresent nya? Basta na lang no kaya nagkalokoloko ang bansa choosing wrong people to represent something... Sa Belo Clinic pwede pa sya ambassador, pero agriculture manglupad mga kwaknit!

Hmm what are the qualifications to become an ambassador? I guess the Department appointed Him for a reason, and i'm curious about it. Place His qualifications please.

Baka naman dun sya nag train sa farm ville app games kaya meron na syang experience sa agricultural.

“I'm very new to the world of agriculture but it's my passion of sustainability that has brought me here.  It's my privilege to use my voice to support farmers and fisherfolk in the Philippines. There is a need to change the way we see agricultute. Agriculture should be protected, supported, and innovated. ” - James Reid, 2020

Siya na mismo nagsabi na very new siya sa larangan ng agriculture o food security, katangahang siya ang kinuhang ambassador. 

Ano gagawin niya? Ngingitian, kakantahan, sasayawan o magdadrama sa kabukiran?

Gising Department of Agriculture - Philippines !!! Bakit ang bobo ninyo?

Hindi komo pogi ay gaganahan na ang kabataang magtanim. Baka magtititili lang mga pabebeng dalagita sa kanya.

Baka nga wala man lang naitanim na gulay yan kahit isa.

Classes to remain suspended until Covid-19 vaccine

Wazzup Pilipinas!

“Para sa akin, bakuna muna.”

In a public address aired late Monday night, May 25, President Rodrigo Duterte says classes will remain suspended until a vaccine against COVID-19 is made available. #COVID19PH


Are you in favor of postponing the resumption of school year until a vaccine has been developed?

The president or the government must based any of their pronouncement on science and facts. To make a pronouncement  like that without a basis is not the kind of leadership we expect.  My question is how the government doing with test and tracing program? Do they have a reliable figure? If the current figures are correct and reliable then I believed there's a lot of provinces that now can go back to normal as long as they have risk assessment done to control the social distancing as so many provinces still have no or very minimal infections.

A year of not going to school will not hurt the children. There are alot of means to learn from home. Health and safety first for the kids because they are more vulnerable from this virus. Education is for all, not for those who are privileged! DepEd should consider those students in public who don't have laptops/mobile phones and access to the internet connection.

Hindi titigil ang pag aaral kung hindi man pumasok sa school pero ang buhay, iisa lang yan. Kapag online schooling ok sa akin as parent, pero pag physical schooling a big NO. sorry. I cannot put the life of my kid at risk. A year of skipping school is not a big deal.

Walang pumipigil sa online schooling. Pwede naman yan. Pero ang accreditation nyan ang problema kung hindi iaaprub ni Tatay Digong ang SY 2020-2021. Pwede nman online tutorials, homeschooling, or any means na walang physical appearance o contact para naman may pagkaabalahan mga bata. Pero yung formal school year wag na muna.

Online schooling or nothing, a year of absence from school will not hurt the future of my children, but covid can, even worse.

From the President's speech, it’s clear na he’s pertaining to face to face class as impossible without the vaccine BUT the DepEd has already presented the setting which most to all of the schools will be different modalities such ad blended learning or online learning.

We can ensure safety to our students but we also need to assure knowledge and education amidst this pandemic. Sayang ang matuto, hindi lang naman sa apt na sulok ng classroom matatagpuan ang pagkatuto.

Pero para fair sa lahat mahirap man o mayaman, i-postpone ang klase ng buong school year, kasi kawawa naman ang mga batang maleleft behind. But we cannot stop those who have the means to acquire online schooling. Kung ako walang capability na magpaaral online, tigil anak ko. Pero Hindi ko pilitin na yung iba din patigilin kahit may means sila. Selfish naman yun.

DepED is in the process of  developing the learning continuity plan.  It is a contingency plan for the delivery while the pandemic is still there. There are modalities planned such as online teaching,  homeschooling,  distance learning,  face to face or blended learning. training cost for developing for these plans too high, it seems the DepEd is always caught unprepared for this kind of situations, meetings and conferences everywhere yet they they still produce the highest percentage of can hardly read and right after finishing elem. or even secondary compared to other countries.

With the way how the evolution of people and its learning technology right now, schools is getting obsolete.

For us to understand and realize that the world had to change its way of evolving, to be able to respond and protect human challenge dealing to modern technology as well as the importance of saving the planet Earth. We have witnessed the reduction of carbon emissions damaging the ozone layer. We have learned saving the lives of others and preserving family values. See the positive impact not the negative results of Covid19. Everything happened for a reason.

There were positive changes for the environment, but I think it’s unsympathetic of us to tell people (frontliners and those who lost families and friends to COVID) to “see the positive impact not the negative results of Covid19.”

Never compromise health as to the level of learning to accomplished. Education starts at home and it is where learning can be developed into skill.  To stop in school or university because of force majeure should be understood for a while. The rule prevails, “Prevention is better than Cure.” For safety against COVID 19 is to follow World Health Organization (WHO) scientific instructions  and advice for that is the only way to control the spread of the deadly infectious disease until the arrival of the appropriate vaccine being developed. Remember, all medical scientist are working hard for the vaccine and now on trials  to assess its effectiveness. LEARN TO BE PATIENT.

Plants Versus Pets: The Challenges of Urban Gardening

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Pahamak yung pusa namin! Nabali yung pinaka main branch ng ampalaya eh ang haba na. Sayang!

Mukhang gugulayin ko na lang yung mga dahon bukas. Munggong may ampalaya leaves?

Ganoon talaga! Ganyan ang buhay parang life. Back to start uli. Magpatubo uli bukas.

Ano naman kayang luto gagawin ko sa pusa? Lol!

Nawiwili akong magtanim ...lahat ng seeds from kitchen scraps like veggies like bell peppers, ampalaya, tomatoes, sometimes iniisip ko pati na rin fruits kaso karamihan puno kaya malabo for a condo type residential unit. No space and soil big enough to grow trees, and the association would not allow it, just as they refused to have us install satellite dishes as they would make the building look ugly.

Halos lahat ng kamatis seeds na itinapon ko sa mga paso ay tumubo kaya siksikan tuloy sila everywhere

Pero yung mga sili from all kinds ay wala yatang nagparamdam.

I joined a Facebook group called Manila Grows Food, which inspired me more to pursue this interest. Then I also joined other groups like Philippine Urban Gardening, the Hydroponics Philippines when I got curious of this alternative way to plant.

I started with Kratky method of hydroponics usings styroboxes as planters containing liquid nutrient solutions instead of soil. There are other types of hydroponics using pumps to circulate water through pipes, then others like aerophonics and aquaphonics, and similar stuff.

Growing veggies using nutrient solution in refurbished styrobox ng grapes would be the cheaper and less hassle method

I started with pechay and mustasa, planning to follow with lettuce, but I guess rainy season is already here. There won't enough sun, and the rain will dilute the nutrient solution, and though the system can be moved inside and use grow lights as a replacement to sunlight, I don't have the space and the investment may not be worth it if the cost of the lighting system would not be justified by the harvest.

Add the fact that our cats will continue to be a threat to our garden. I can't guard the veggies all day and night, and the limited space prevents me to setup barricades to protect the small garden.

Now I got this comment when I posted the styrobox setup:

"for the amount of space your styro box is taking up, you could have 30 normal plants growing in dirt with the same amount of water usage...wasted space...those plants grow upward, consider growing something that goes downward...like carrots"

True, the challenge is soil is not easily
accessible unless we buy, quite heavy to bring up to our floor, and still you have to keep it fertilized and pest-free. On another part of our place are pots with veggies growing on soil. Just experimenting on this setup which uses the liquid nutrient solution, which is tidier, and less work. Though, I'm just doing this to keep busy and learn something new while I let this quarantine pass. Those posts on the urban gardening and hydroponics groups are inspiring.

I also planted some veggies at our other home but this quarantine kept us in just one location. Now I'm wondering if they survived by just getting water from the rain alone.

The other house's fence was padlocked so we couldn't ask the neighbors to water our plants. We'll try to go there one of these days now that they've shifted the Rizal province to General Community Quarantine, but just for a short visit.

The other house does not have any pets so it's safer for veggies.

Stray cats frequent our place in Pasig because we feed them our food scrap. We provided a food bowl outside where we put all our edible food waste that they could eat. Now I'm thinking of stopping so they would no longer come. Am I bad for thinking that?