“SHeLF: She, He Self-Help Farming” – A More Direct, Personal View Of Regenerative Agriculture

I am discontinuing my earlier blog, “Regenerative Agriculture, Help! 13” with this one, “SHeLF She, He Self-Help Farming” – to emphasize the self-help nature of farming that I am advocating to farmers, knowing that there are 2+ million of poor farmers in the Philippines (statista.com).
(Sources of images: top, topcounselingschools.org; bottom, mungfali.com)

Early morning of today, Tuesday, 03 Sept 2024, when I woke up and before I got up from bed, I realized that what I have been laboring to promote in my blog are in fact packages of “self-help agriculture” – a term I have given birth just now, on my birthmonth. Earlier, with the blog “Regenerative Agriculture, Help! 13” (blogspot.com), I began “selling” each of the 13 practices I have listed under RA – today, I continue to plug for RA under the new blog, “SHeLF: She, He Self-Help Farming.” Note that the name itself includes the female as a would-be farmer – and that the objective is “self-help farming.”

SHeLF – There is the expected excellent results – “get out of poverty” – even for farmers with little or no capital, if you examine the RA List:
1, Cover Cropping
2, Crop Rotation
3, Farm Crops + Tree Crops (Agroforestry)
4, Green Manuring
5, Intercropping
6, Multiple Cropping
7, No-Till Farming
8, Organic Fertilization
9, Ratooning
10, Rotational Grazing
11, “Three Sisters” Planting
12, Trap Cropping
13, Trash Mulching.

What about those who have zero or little experience in farming? They can ask their Municipal Agricultural Officer (MAO) or their local farmers’ cooperative for direct help. (I am also thinking of a development bank-supported project to help spread the gospel of “SHeLF: She, He Self-Help Farming.” I’m thinking of either IRRI, PhilRice or UP Los Baños as co-project proponents.)

In the meantime, I hope that what I continue writing here will help each farmer become happier with high returns from his low costs! Remember, Regenerative Agriculture requires zero farm chemicals and zero pesticides, which under Chemical Agriculture are so expensive.

Bad news, or good news? “Self-help farming” is not popular! I have just googled for “self-help farming” and I got only very few results from the entire Web!

(1)   Ken Rosebaum, “Fred Kirschenmann On Farming As A Self-Regulating, Self-Renewing System,” (“The Organic And Non-GMO Report,” non-gmoreport.com)

(2)   The Farming Community Network (FCN) – nothing specific, fcn.org.uk).

Whether the issue is personal or business-related, FCN is here for you. We run a confidential, national helpline and e-helpline which is open every day of the year from 7am to 11pm and our volunteers provide free, confidential support to anyone who seeks help. Over 10,000 people a year benefit from FCN’s support and we can help with a variety of issues.

10,000+ people a year is a miserable number! And since the PH government has not been helping reduce that the poor millions of PH farmers to a minimum, those of us who can do something must move!

At 84, I shall keep on blogging to help the millions of farmers help themselves grow out of their poverty. So help me God!@517

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