Are you hungry?

 You will eat for the rest of your life.

“The more you know

about agriculture the
better off you will be!!!”
Holton Agricultural Education Department
Agriculture Exploration Class
Who will feed the hungry world ?

Can Science feed the world ?

What would the world be without

AGRICULTURE ? ? ?
 Can science feed the world?
Nature asks what role science has to
play in securing food for the future.

With less arable land, less

water, less favorable
environmental conditions.
ISSUES OF THE 21ST CENTURY :
Climate Change, Food Security, Energy Crisis

VCA AND SUSTAINABLE

PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

FLORO V. DALAPAG
QUESTIONS :
 hOW SUSTAINABLE ARE OUR CURRENT
PRODUCTION SYSTEM?
 IS THE CURRENT “SELF-SUFFICIENCY” IN RICE
MINDSET SUSTAINABLE?
 DESPITE IRRI’S PRESENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES,
WHY IS OUR AVERAGE YIELD PER HECTARE IN RICE
LAGGING BEHIND OUR ASEAN NEIGHBOR?
 WHAT ARE THE TOP THREE COMMON FOOD
SOURCES WE CAN DO WITHOUT TO CONTRIBUTE
POSITIVELY TO SUSTAINABILITY OF OUR FOOD
SYSTEM
 WHAT ARE THE SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES
ASSOCIATED WITH AGRI TECHNOLOGIES
USED TO INCREASE FARM PRODUCTIVITY.
THE AGRI FOOD LANDSCAPE
Productivity: Benchmarking with ASEAN
Sustainability

levels of perception

 Sustainable  Resource-conserving
 Alternative  Biological
 Regenerative  Natural
 Low external input  Ecoagriculture/
 Low-input sustainable agroecological
agriculture  Organic/biodynamic/
 Balanced-input permaculture
sustainable agriculture
Sustainable Agriculture

“Often presented in opposition to modernized

agriculture”
 Conventional
 Resource degrading
 Intensive or high external input

“Common reference point”

 Resource-conserving with greater use of
 Low-input local resources and
knowledge
 Regenerative
 Sustainable Crop Production

Main Goals

Strategies Environmental health

Economic profitability
Features Socioeconomic equity
 Farming/natural
resources
 Plant & animal
 Diversification  Meet present and future
production
Production

generation needs
system

 Conservation/ practices
regeneration  Economic, social/  Systems approach ---
 Production/ political issues aspects of
stability environment
 Interdisciplinary
approach (all
stakeholders)
 ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
SERVICE – (n) act of help or assistance (v) to supply
with assistance
About 20 dictionary meanings – Latin servus = slave
PROVISIONING

REGULATING

SUPPORTING

CULTURAL
 SCIENCE
+
AGRICULTURE

MORE HABITABLE WORLD

ELEMENTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY : MARKET DRIVEN
SCIENCE -BASED

MODERN PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY

 AGRICULTURE to FEED THE WORLD

Innovations for farm efficiency improvements

Seed Proper
selection land prep

Seedling production Post harvest operations

 Drivers and constraints
 Biggest driver : Industrialization of
Agriculture over the last 40 years
 What kind of food system do we have today?
 60% of the food comes from only 2% of the farms
 Only a handful of corporations control the input,
processing, and marketing of most of what we eat
 The producer’s share is down to pittance
 Focus is on increase production efficiency
without much consideration of ecosystem
services
 Market-driven food chain is highly dictated by
consumer preference (needs vs. desires)
Three grasses – provide 60% of
human caloric needs

Food systems - very vulnerable

Three grasses – provide 60% of
human caloric needs

Food systems - very vulnerable

Decreased diversity ; highly
susceptible to pathogens
Irish
Potato
Low Crop
Famine
Diversity:

Ireland
Depended
On One
Strain of
One Crop
Illustrated London News
Northern Corn Blight

C. Martinson, Iowa State U.

Gary Munkvold, Iowa State U

 Livestock
Production

Disease
Manure
Efficiency
Grain Use
Doug Argue (Weisman Art Museum)
 Meat Production Methods
1400
World Cattle
1300
World Pigs
1200 Cattle, evolved for living on low-protein
World Cattle (Millions)

1100 grasses, must be given antibiotics when

fed high-protein grains.
1000
900
800
700
600 *Antibiotic resistant novel pathogens
500 *Manure and water pollution problems
*50% of grains fed to livestock
400
300
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995
Year
photo credit: USDA-ARS
CLIMATE CHANGE . . FOOD PRODUCTION
. . . INCREASE Irrigation EFFICIENCY!

( No Forest? No Water
No Water? No Food
(philippine daily inquirer, october 15, 2008)

• NO LAND?
• No Forests,
• No Water !
• No Food !
• No Livable World ! ! !
Ecosystem System Approach (ESA)
 Some Inputs for Development of Local Agricultural Agenda
Events
Changes in growing
dates/seasons
Reduction in agricultural
productivity
Frequency and intensity of El
Nino and La Nina
Increase in tropical cyclones
Increased pest incidence
Action/Need
Breeding for adaptations/bio remediation
Conservation and utilization of genetic
resources and it’s access
•Short duration crops
•Availability of flood-prone and drought
tolerant varieties
•Cropping pattern shifts
•Intensify Pest Monitoring
•IPM/ICM
PLANT BREEDING AND CROP IMPROVEMENT

Breeding for adaptation Breeding for salt tolerance

Breeding for water submergence

Breeding for drought tolerance
Issue : Playing God ? Or a partner in
Improving God’s creation
Practical Greenhouse Technology
Innovations

Papaya greenhouse culture Bell pepper planted in sacks

Seed factory
CROPS and SCIENCE . . . . To FEED THE WORLD

Fertigation systems
Soil Less Culture: Sand
Culture, Liquid Culture, CROPS AND SCIENCE
FOR A BETTER WORLD
Areoponics

C
 SCIENCE FOR A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS ENTERPRISE

APPLY PHYSICS AND ENGINEERING

APPLY CHEMISTRY

STS : Silver
thiosulfate (1-2 hrs)

MINI TROLLEY Vial filler (vacuum

pump)
 CROP SCIENCE : JOB OPPORTUNITIES

250,876 PLANT SPECIES IN THE WORLD

ONLY 150 SPECIES ARE GROWN ON

COMMERCIAL SCALE

200,000 +
+ SCIENCE
PLANTS
A MILLION BUSINESS
EQUALS OPPORTUNITIES
 Indigenous ORDHID SPECIES

Trichoglottis philippinensis
var. Brachiata Dendrochilum magnum
Bulbophyllum makoyanum

Grammatophyllum
scriptum var.
citrinum
BUSINESS
OPPORTUNITIES
micropropagation

Orchid seed
 Plant Breeding Opportunities

Gelia Castillo

Emerita de Guzman
Hibiscus schizopetalus

Millenia
Source: Mr. Arne Sviningen
 Creation of genetic variation
Hybridization

Mutant
selection
AGRO TOURISM

Exotic Tropical
gardens

NIGHTSCAPE
Natural, Non toxic Air purifiers

Dracaena
fragrans “Janet
Craig” – corn plant

Business
opportunity :
Plant SALES
AND rentals
Essential oils
ILANG-ILANG
(Cangana
odorata)

Business
opportunities:
own brand of
perfume;
aroma-
theraphy
ORGANIC FARMING

VERMICOMPOSTING
Endorsed Medicinal Plants

AMPALAYA
(Momordica
charantia)

Business
opportunity : own
herbal brand
(CARICA,
CHARANTIA,
TAHEEBO, ETC.)
HORTI -ARTS
JOB
OPPORTUNITIES ;

TRANSNATIONAL
COPRPORATION :

•DEL MONTE
•DOLE
•AGRINANAS
•CARGILL
•PIONEER
•EAST-WEST
•KANEKO
•MONSANTO
•HARBEST
•SYNGENTA
•PLASTRO
•NETAFIM . . .
• ……………
• …………………
 CROP SCIENCE : BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

CONTAINER GARDENS COMMERCIAL PINEAPPLE

GREENHOUSE NURSERIES PLANTATIONS
CROP SCIENCE : BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

TROPICAL FRUITS
MANGO FOR
EXPORT
CROP SCIENCE

- BUSINESS

OPPORTUNITIES

BIO FUEL CROPS

SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION: Future
Challenges , Issues and Concerns
Transgenic Foods
Phytotron

Phytobioremediation
Bt corn : Corn with Bt gene

“gene” from Bt + corn = Bt corn

Issue : Playing God ? Or a partner in
Improving God’s creation
Who will feed the world ?

Agriculture is a made made activity ….

Thru Agriculture we can either be

Agents of Destruction

a Sustainable co-creator?

THE ANSWERS LIE IN OUR HANDS !!!

 Madakel Salamat!
Make PRODUCTION SYSTEMS SUSTAINABLE …
because the world was meant to be green!