As Japan Lends P65 Billion To Philippines For Infrastructure & Climate Change, I Ask Which Is More Dangerous – Debt Or Climate?

Great, or Grave News? Here it is, by Louise Maureen Simeon:

“During a high-level meeting of the two governments yesterday in Manila, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto and Japan International Cooperation Agency country chief representative Baba Takashi led the signing of loan agreements amounting to… roughly P65.43 Billion.

“This was conducted on the sidelines of the 15th Philippines-Japan High-Level Joint Committee Meeting on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation as part of efforts to expedite the rollout of Japan-supported projects in the Philippines.”

The above image, “Japan Lends P65 Billion To Philippines For Infrastructure, Climate Change” is from PhilStar, 25 March 2025 (philstar.com), vaguely presenting the news.  

I say “vaguely” from the standpoint of not pointing out how the financiang will be spent “boosting infrastructure and climate change initiatives in the country.”

Exactly how? Especially about Climate Change – the Enemy of Us All!

As an Agriculturist (UP Los Baños 1965), I’m more interested in how Philippine Agriculture as a whole will “tackle” Climate Change with so much money available.

What I know is that the practice of Filipino farmers, which is Chemical Agriculture (CA), is a HUGE contributor to Climate Change! So, what is the PH government going to do with PH 65 billion in terms of fighting Climate Change?

Elsewhere, here’s an update on Modern Agriculture: “Dr Rattan Lal, Professor of Soil Science at Ohio State University, has calculated that over the last 150 years, 476 billions of tonnes of carbon (have) been emitted from farmland soils due to inappropriate farming and grazing practices.” Causing Climate Change, punishing not only farmers but all of us!

Whatever the amount of carbon loss in 476 billions of tonnes, the more important thing is that chemical agriculture (CA) emits so much greenhouse gases (GHGs) that leads to Climate Change, that CA becomes the enemy of the farmer himself, even as the food he produces is not as healthy as it can be!

Farmers will have to stop CA as the only way to stop all those extra-strong typhoons that bring extra-strong floods that bring extra-large damages to communities in agricultural regions.

To save itself – and us – Agriculture has to turn to the olden ways, collectively called Regenerative Agriculture (RA), a concept originated by American organic farmer Robert Rodale – for quite a dose of it, see Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org).

Here’s my list of RA practices:

(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.

Now then: How about at least 17 billion pesos of that P65 B spent for improving agriculture by spending on those 13 RA practices?

“Project Regenerative Agriculture” –
1B for Project Admin
1B for 18 regional offices
1B for field officers
10B for coops to handle financing for common equipment, including dryers & trucks
4 B Misc

Let’s fight Climate Change by not causing it!@517

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Help! Only Then Can Hope Be Coming To The Farmers. Help!

Image
“Help!” shout The Beatles. Most Filipino farmers, I’m guessing now, are actually minding their own business and are not thinking of asking help from anyone to get them out of poverty. Or, which is the same, they don’t know how to get out of poverty! And? And the government is not helping them any. Sympathizing, yes, but not helping them get out, So! On how to help the millions, plural, of Filipino farmers get out of poverty, I have something to offer. Some 24 years after starting to blog earnestly, via WordPress . com , today via Blogspot.com, at almost 84 (everyday praying to God for more years, at least up to 111, Lord), via this new blog of mine “ Regenerative Agriculture , 13” (Good luck!) – I am dedicating the rest of my life to these 13 practices of Regenerative Agriculture (RA) that I have collected in my decades of browsing the Internet (alphabetized): 1, Cover Cropping 2, Crop Rotation 3, Farm Crops + Tree Crops (Agroforestry) 4, Green Manuring 5, Intercropping 6, ...
Read more

Help, 1! Cover Crops To Produce The New Rich Rice Farmer, To Help Him Raise Rice Right!

Image
Correct me if I am wrong, but our PH government is not directly helping our farmers rise from poverty and stay up there! No such plans that I know. And my alma mater, UP Los Baños , neither has plans nor programs nor studies on how to produce rich farmers out of poor farmers! It’s not that they don’t know how – it’s that they are not paying attention ! Of course, UP Los Baños knows about most if not all of the 13 practices in Regenerative Agriculture that I listed previously (see my 29 Aug 2024 article, “Help! Only Then Can Hope Be Coming To The Farmers. Help!,” Regenerative Agriculture , blogspot.com ). How can I, an alumnus, explain the lack of attention of my alma mater to farming practices that are low-costs-high-returns? Don’t ask me – ask them! Our farmers will rise from poverty if their earnings are great! That is, their costs are low and their returns are high – I don’t knw of any government official concerned about raising the standard of earnings of Filipino farmers, an...
Read more

Help, 3! Farm Crops + Tree Crops (Agroforestry) To Produce The New Rich Rice Farmer, To Help Him Raise Rice Right!

Image
PhilRice has much to say about “Agroforestry,” which is “growing farm crops along with tree crops,” with many advantages aside from good income!  So!  I am pleasantly surprised. In the PhilRice website, Christina Frediles writes, “The Science Behind Trees” (12 Apr 2016, PhilRice , philrice.gov.ph ): “Some farms in Claveria, Misamis Oriental … tend plants in steep slopes with erosion-prone and acidic soils while rainfall serves as main source of water. But these obstacles do not bother them. Their ally? The trees – which are beneficial to rice and other crops.” Dr Agustin Mercado Jr , research manager of the World Agroforestry Center-Philippines, says “In planting trees with rice, farmers should consider its economic, environmental, and social benefits.” ”Trees maintain soil organic matters such as leaves and root decays. They improve vegetable productivity by reducing windspeed and increasing relative humidity and soil moisture at the surface.” Nevertheless: IRRI an...
Read more