Why Is UP Los Baños Visibly Digital And Invisibly Developmental?

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UP Los Baños, why does it not house the Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture?!

Right at the entrance to the campus, 2 big electronic billboards confront you, left and right, open simultaneously and showing exactly the same thing. (image from Good News Pilipinas[1]) My question is, as a 1965 alumnus and communicator for science, why is UP Los Baños not in the forefront of supporting Secretary of Agriculture William Dar’s intellectual “New Thinking for Agriculture” – Amor Propio?

The answer to my question in my title is this:

UP Los Baños is strong in Communication but weak on Development! That weakness is self-inflicted – and more than 40 years old.

When I was the Chief Information Officer of the Forest Research Institute, FORI, in the mid-to-late 1970s, I published in the FORI Sylvatrop forestry journal a technical paper on Communication for Development, ComDev, which I presented as a theory in contradistinction from UPLB’s Development Communication, DevCom, the brainchild of Nora C Quebral. My ComDev emphasized communication in pursuit of development, while her DevCom emphasized communication left to the discretion of the communicator whether to support development or not!

So, I’m not surprised that in the last 12 months, no publication or article published by UPLB or its any of its alumni has pushed for any of the following – I’m assuming the alumni know of their existence as The 8 Paradigms of the new PH agriculture being pursued by one of its alumni, the new Secretary of Agriculture:

(1) Modernization.

(2) Industrialization.

(3) Promotion of exports.

(4) Consolidation of small- and medium-sized farms

(5) Infrastructure development.

(6) Higher budget & investment.

(7) Legislative support.

(8) Roadmap development.

No, I am not saying that UP Los Baños is not intelligent enough to tackle any and all of those paradigms – which I have emphasized by maxing the list. What I’m saying is that UP Los Baños has not been paying attention to the developmental needs of the country, especially in agriculture, which is its field! Unpardonable sin.

By the way, in 2011, I was chosen “Outstanding Alumnus for Creative Writing” by the UPLB Alumni Association when Pids Rosario was still UPLBAA President. Since nobody else has received such an honor – not even in all of the UP System – now I feel I owe UPLB the pursuit of a creative project, even if it is not mine:

Enrich and implement the Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture, OpAPA.

Actually, OpAPA was the brainchild of William Dar some 17 years ago yet, but it has languished for 2 reasons:

(1) The implementation was more mechanical than digital, so the speed was that of a turtle.

(2) It was neither technically nor institutionally supported by UP Los Baños. Nobody asked!

Today, we have friends in high places – William Dar has a PhD in Horticulture, from UP Los Baños no less.

I ComDev person now challenge the DevCom people in Agriculture to come out for Agriculture!

As for a budget, surely we can ask the DA. Ready when you are!@517


[1]https://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/up-los-banos-readies-bio-safe-covid-19-testing-center/


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