Black & White, OpAPA & The Geography of Knowledge. Digital World, When Complexity Confuses

This OpAPA book (left image above) I've had for years (?) but I never minded it until now, while looking for worthy topics for my cerebral magazine Creativity World.

Published in October 2009 in 260 pages 6"x9" trim size, the complete title is:

OpAPA. The Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture
(An Innovation In Accessing Modern Agricultural Technologies).

Yes, the image above is half the cover; yes, it is half sad. After 5 years of operation, OpAPA was begging for its life!

Here is the last paragraph of the Executive Summary of that book:

While ICT-based extension models are now at hand, these need to be further fine-tuned to fit with the dynamics and complexities of rural communities. The institutionalization of OpAPA is recommended to ensure its operations as a research-cum-development program focusing on exploring ICT applications in agriculture.

With OpAPA, 8 organizations national and international were involved – Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Science & Technology (DoST), University of the Philippines Open University, Central Luzon State University, Pampanga Agricultural College, University of Southern Mindanao, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). (It was ICRISAT Director General William Dar who originally suggested OpAPA.)

With 2 Philippine Departments (DA & DoST) and 2 international centers (ICRISAT and IRRI), along with 3 local universities and 1 college – in 5 years, they failed to institutionalize OpAPA. To me, that was a classic case of "Too many cooks spoil the broth!"

In its five years of operations, OpAPA has generated several ICT models and found their viability and applications in agriculture by testing them in wide and complex landscapes through the cyber communities established across the country. Some of these modalities include the following: The Pinoy Farmers' Text Center (0920-911-1398), Pinoy Farmers' Internet (WWW.openacademy.ph); PhilRice online databases; E-commerce or Palay Tindahan; Mobile Internet Bus (MIB); E-learning; Online Campaigns; E-Forum; ICT-based IEC materials; PalayAklatan sa CyberCom (Rice Library at CyberCom); ICT Road Shows; School-on-the-Air; and Radio+SMS+Internet Service.

Wow! They were doing so many things at the same time! They were trying too hard. In the world of creativity, too many creative minds is too many.

Take it from me, an Ilocano aboriginal original from Central Luzon.

Now, look at the right image above; it says:

Draft 2, 28/12/2003
The Geography Of Knowledge
What you seek is what you get!
Frank A Hilario

That is the cover of the soft copy of the book I submitted to the OpAPA people as a consultant in its first year of operation. (I still have a soft copy of it; if interested, email me at frankahilario@gmail.com.). I was working that Sunday; that was no problem. The next day, I submitted that book, a proposal on the configuration of OpAPA that was radical. An Ilocano, I'm an original aboriginal. The day after, I was told that my contract for consultancy was not going to be renewed. That was the problem!

I forgave them 15 years ago. Today, I still think OpAPA can be renewed. Try me!@517