Enriching The Farms By Applying Multiple Intelligences Agriculture (MiA), Borrowing From Howard Gardner’s Educational Theory Of Multiple Intelligences (MI)

I came across the theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) by Harvard psychology professor Howard Gardner when in 2001 I learned about the MI-based Cahbriba Alternative School the secondary school founded by husband-wife Cielito & Pilar Habito in Laguna. How can I forget that when my wife Ampy and I sent 3 of our children to study at Cahbriba: Neenah, Edwin & Ela!

All things considered, I am after all an Agriculturist, a graduate of UP Los Baños, 1965, BSA major in Ag Edu. And I have been blogging about agriculture since I can remember: 2000, using the blogging program WordPress.com. Today, I use Blogger.com. I have changed my digital world – but the terrestrial world of millions of poor Filipino farmers have not!

Morning today, Monday, 28 Oct 2024, using my creative head, I had the inspiration to look at what is known as Regenerative Agriculture (RA) and rename the whole package as Multiple Intelligences Agriculture (MiA).

Even a glance will convince you of the intelligences (plural) “hidden” in the RA list, now MiA list, below (my enumeration):
(image sources: top slideserve.com, bottom wallpapercave.com)

(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.

It so happens that the number of the agriculture practices covered by RA, now MiA, is thirteen (13), which is by tradition “unlucky.”

So let’s study the matter of “13.” Wikipedia says (en.wikipedia.org): “In Mathematics – The number 13 is a prime number, happy number and a lucky number.” Happy and Lucky – That’s enough for me!

Here are 7 reasons why I call the whole bunch “Multiple Intelligences Agriculture,” each one being:

(1)  Very low cost, giving back very high returns (VLC=VHR);

(2)  Replenishes the soil’s fertility consumed by the crop/s;

(3)  Supports 2 or more crops growing simultaneously;

(4) Prevents soil erosion;

(5)  Hardly needs irrigation water;

(6)  Welcomes biologically altered crops like Golden Rice and Bt corn.

(7)  Unlike any of the practices under “Chemical  Agriculture,” does not generate any greenhouse gas (GHG) that contributes to Climate Change.

The current practices in agriculture subsist on chemicals – fertilizers and pesticides – generating GHGs.

We need all the intelligent agriculture we can get!

I have long been thinking of the 3 million poor Filipino farmers because of their costly chemical agricultural practices, each of which is Very High Costs (VHC) generating Very Low Returns (VLR). VHC=VLR is the main reason Filipino farmers are poor!

To get rid of Farmer Poverty, we must employ our multiple intelligences and campaign for the practices included in Multiple Intelligences Agriculture! Here’s Gardner’s MI list:

1. Body Smart
2. Thinking Smart, added by FAH
3. Life Smart
4. People Smart
5. Self Smart
6. Number/Reasoning Smart
7. Music Smart
8. Nature Smart
9. Image Smart
10. Word Smart.

Smarts is the way to go to improve farmers’ lives in Agriculture!@517

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