BIAG: Do You Begin With Seed, Soil Or Water?

MANILA: I continue redefining agriculture from yesterday's essay ("BIAG, The New Agriculture," 11 April 2016, BIAG, blogspot.com) where I said "The New Agriculture must enrich the poor." I ask you now: Because of Noynoy Aquino's (NEDA's) war cry of "inclusive growth" early in his presidency, how many poor farmers have become rich? Zero, zilch, nada.

BIAG, The New Agriculture of Life. If you didn't know, I am an Ilocano and biag is the Ilocano word that means life. Time to change the life of the farmer from bad to better. Naimbag a biag kaniana met a! (A good life for him too!)

The photograph above, here posterized, I took 26 February 2016 at the village of Pao Sur in La Union, across the mountain from the City of San Fernando; the setup is that of a contract growing of trellised bitter melon or bitter gourd (parya in Ilocano, ampalaya in Tagalog, Momordica charantia), seeds coming from the company East-West Seed. As an extension consultant of the Department of Agrarian Reform, the last time I asked, somebody was earning P30,000 net from a setup like that in 1,000 square meters in one growing season, with East-West Seed providing much of the inputs. If you multiply by 10, you are earning P300,000 from 1 ha in 1 season; you are rich. Within 1 year, you are richer by 1 million!

BIAG is about how to become a millionaire without really trying, but it is not about how to start growing any of East-West seeds, or growing any other of the so-called high-value crops, except that my photograph has all 3 elements: seed, soil & water. If you don't see them all in the image, you're not trying hard enough.

This essay is about with which to begin The New Agriculture of Life: Seed, Soil, or Water? You may ask why the question is important; my answer is that I'm trying to simplify the new form of the farm so that even a high schooler can understand where it's coming from. So that farming can be as painless as possible, as technology-independent as possible, as cost-less as possible, as enriching to the farmer as possible even while he is conserving resources. Don't forget I'm an agriculturist and Ilocano; the agriculturist is trained in college, the Ilocano trained in life. In college, from your parents you get an allowance; in life you have to earn your income, the more the better.

The thing is, in farming, which is a business proposition if you didn't know, not only do you have to try & decrease cost even as you try & increase yield, you also have to conserve the natural resources of seed, soil, water and the lives in and on the soil. They are compatible goals, as I will show you later.

Right now, the question is: With which do we begin to understand The New Agriculture of Life without getting a nosebleed: Seed, Soil, or Water?

Is it the Seed?

BIAG. There must be life in a seed.

"A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering" – Wikipedia.

A seed is "a mature plant ovule containing an embryo. A source or beginning; a germ" – American Heritage Dictionary

Seed is a media group trying to teach 7 billion people "to think scientifically" (seedmediagroup.com). What is that all about? Seed says:

It's a different way of looking at the world. It's about using data to uncover patterns and design to confront complexity. It's about connecting things to reveal systems. It's about traversing scales and disregarding disciplines, applying neuroscience to economics, math to global health, virology to manufacturing, and genetics to law… It's about experimenting all the way to understanding. It's about changing your mind with new evidence – and getting as close to truth as humanly possible.

BIAG, yes, The New Agriculture of Life I'm espousing is a different way of looking at the world of agriculture. Yes, it has something to do with systems. But it has nothing to do with neuroscience, virology and genetics; it's not about experimenting your way to understanding. And it's not ”about using data to uncover patterns and design to confront complexity." It's the other way around. In The New Agriculture of Life, I'm using the complexity of modern agriculture to discover the simplicity of patterns and designs.

Seed Scientific, now a part of Spotify, looks at data as seeds and "combines cutting-edge math, science, design, and engineering to craft insights, models, and tools with data" (seedscientific.com). Not BIAG. The New Agriculture of Life does not need data to craft insights, models and such – it itself is already an insight, a model and tool for working out a new agriculture.

Is it the Soil?

BIAG. There must be life in the soil.

"Soils matter," says the Soil Science Society of America (soils.org). It also says, "Laser reveals water's secret life in soil." Interesting.

It's very tempting to say that the soil is the beginning of The New Agriculture of Life.

"Soil is the top layer of the Earth's surface in which plants can grow, consisting of rock and mineral particles mixed with decayed organic matter and having the capability of retaining water" – American Heritage Dictionary.

"Soil is the mixture of minerals, organic matter, gases, liquids, and the countless organisms that together support life on Earth" – Wikipedia. It's getting complicated, doesn't it?

"Soil is defined as the top layer of the earth’s crust. It is formed by mineral particles, organic matter, water, air and living organisms. It is in fact an extremely complex, variable and living medium. As soil formation is an extremely slow process, soil can be considered essentially as a non-renewable resource" – European Commission.. Even more complex, isn't it? I agree with the European Commission that the soil is a living medium. But I disagree when it says the soil is a non-renewable resource. The soil is renewable, if you know what to do, if you understand the essence of it. We will see as we further explore The New Agriculture!

2015 was the International Year of Soils, with the theme "healthy soils for a healthy life." That is almost saying, "The New Agriculture of Life begins with the soil."

Is it the Water?

BIAG. There must be life in the water.

Water is very important in agriculture and in our lives. "Agriculture uses approximately 70% of the world’s freshwater supply" – Pacific Institute (pacinst.org). The Institute also points out the large-scale overdraft of groundwater and water contamination from agricultural runoff. Be careful with that water!

"Water is a transparent fluid (that) forms the world's streams, lakes, oceans and rain, and is the major constituent of the fluids of organisms" – Wikipedia.

"Freshwater is literally the lifeblood of agriculture" – Grace Communications Foundation (gracelinks.org). "Learn more about how agriculture uses and impacts water, the large water footprint of food and ways to protect water by understanding the impacts of our food choices and water-smart agriculture practices." Water footprint? Hmm.

The USGS says about water (water.usgs.gov):

You may be familiar with how water is always cycling around, through, and above the Earth, continually changing from liquid water to water vapor to ice. One way to envision the water cycle is to follow a drop of water around as it moves on its way. I could really begin this story anywhere along the cycle, but I think the ocean is the best place to start, since that is where most of Earth's water is.

But we are talking here of agriculture, on Earth and not above, so the best place to start talking about water is the irrigation canal, river or stream, shallow tube well, rain, or rain harvest. I will discuss this further next time.

Now then: Seed, Soil or Water? So far, I have taken you on a ride to dissociate yourself from the textbook science of agriculture and explore the practical side of it.

So: Seed, Soil or Water? Which one is the best factor to understand the essence of The New Agriculture of Life that I'm thinking of that should change the course of history of agriculture in our time – I hope?

Careful now:

Suppose you choose Seed, then The New Agriculture of Life can be controlled by seed companies – therefore it's not different from conventional agriculture, right?

Suppose you choose Soil, then The New Agriculture of Life can be controlled by the owners of land and manufacturers of fertilizers both chemical and organic – therefore it's not different from conventional agriculture, right?

Suppose you choose Water, then The New Agriculture of Life can be controlled by those who control the irrigation canals, or who control the water pumps, as they do now – therefore it's not different from conventional agriculture, right?

So, what's new with The New Agriculture of Life? You will be surprised!

Seed, Soil or Water? In fact, I have given you clues in the paragraphs above. I will answer my own question in the next essay.







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