Time For A New Nationalism In Agriculture! How About NAG Journalism?

The art & heart of PH journalism in agriculture today still reflect the 1960s, split into 2 parts. One, individual success stories come out glowingly in dailies and monthlies. Rarely group success. Two, contrarian stories paint PH Agriculture in the negative, often very negative.

Time for a new nationalism in agriculture!
And it must be economic, not political.
For sustainability, not disestablishment.

Looking at the State of the Art of PH Agriculture with new Secretary of Agriculture William Dar/Manong Willie, I say:

We have at best 50-50 Agriculture:
50% pro-farmer, 50% anti-farmer.

So, to help the new Department of Agriculture, DA, in leveling up our agriculture, I know this is a job for Superman!

Paradigm shifts. No Superman, I settle for a NAG Journalist.
New Agriculture Journalist.
Nationalistic, Advanced, Good-for-All Journalist.

NAG is acronym for:

Nationalistic – I mean acting locally while thinking globally. So, for instance, you cannot reject PH rice tariffication without considering effects on the other member countries of the World Trade Organization.

Advanced – Based on the latest science. Knowledge available via the user's cellphone in a language that is immediately understandable by the user, farmer or journalist. It should be digital.

Good-for-All Journalism – The agriculture to be disseminated by the NAG Journalist should be inclusive of what is good for the poor farmer, for his family, and for his village. It takes a village to feed, educate, and treat a child well.

So, young or old, we aggie journalists have a job even if none of us is Superman.

This is where you need science.

I cannot blame the journalists in agriculture, young or old, because even up to now, in this Digital Age, those journalists do not find easy to do research on a topic.

So, I am calling for the creation of a NAG Journalism website where background data and information on any topic, subject, field, area or whatever, complete with images and icons, can be found anytime by anyone.

We should not expect aggie journalists to go out on a limb looking for background data and information, calling all persons of authority in their cellphone lists etc. Right now, that background knowledge meant for a journalist cannot be found in the websites of the DA, PhilRice – not even IRRI.

I believe the Department of Agriculture, DA, under new Secretary of Agriculture William Dar/Manong Willie, should now make the reporting lives of those journalists easy – the DA should cause to build a website where non-technical people can access much background information such as on any of The Eight Paradigms of the new PH Agriculture under Manong Willie.

Application: Having browsed the website created in your image and language, you the journalist can go ahead and interview one or two of the farmers who received those farm equipment. You are ready with your questions, and the farmers you will interview will note and appreciate your intelligence!

Since it is my idea, I can immediately initiate the actual website work if Manong Willie will approve of it, assigning some DA funds of course!@517