Livestock industry contributes to 80% of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. 2 Ruminant production systems, although one of the biggest contributors to agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, still help in alleviating poverty and in securing food security in developing nations. 3 It’s not a good strategy to stifle such livestock industries, but some parts of its resource-intensive supply chain can be improved. One of the ancillary industries that is linked to ruminant production is the feed production, which needs optimization techniques.4Silage, which is a product made from chopped forage, is produced by preserving or by “tipig” of agricultural by-products for future use in feed production. 5 Tipig in the local nomenclature is synonymous to “preservation,” which is still to be introduced to an ageing farmers demographic in the outskirts. 6 Local industries are already producing corn, 7 which can be a great source of silage and animal feed. 8
Desmodium rensonii being cultivated for forage in Lomonay
Daisugi is a Japanese forestry technique that was developed during the Muromachiperiod. 2 It utilizes the sugi3 or cedar to produce timber for construction. Additionally, daisugi means “platform cedar” or “table cedar.” This technique is similar to coppicing, which is used to produce more biomass from wood. 4 Biomass from wood is used not just in the construction industry but also in energy generation, especially in societies that have an ingrained cultural connection with nature. 5Toyota, for example, has a 70-hectare smart city project that aims to utilize mainly wooden materials. 6 This is one of the many Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)projects 7 that the government needs to quantify and incentivize, as societies aim for sustainability. 8
There are already many materials that are utilized by the furniture industry worldwide, both natural and synthesized. This industry, which is estimated to be a 600-million dollar industry by 2027, 2 if trends are favorable, remains lucrative under the creative economy 3. Philippines is aiming to become a global innovator4 in furniture production using sustainable materials. 5 Some of the materials available locally are hardwood, buri, rattan.6 And while the country strives to keep its foothold as “Milan of Asia” 7 in terms of furniture production, it still has more local materials to develop. One material that is still to be utilized more is the “bagtok” – Climbing Bamboo. 8
Oasis is defined as an area in a desert or an arid land that is made fertile by freshwater. 2 It bears both some ancient religious meanings in many religions, and as well as some contemporary scientific uses. 3 Recently, the Paschal Triduum has been celebrated by various religious traditions in the world. 4 It celebrates the concept of “resurrection,” which is a concept that is reflected in many epics and written literatures around the world. This “oasis” is one of the concepts that people can build on as climate change expands the problem of desertification5 and saltwater intrusion. 6
Oases are one of the many examples of integrated agriculture,7 as it involves a3-strata system: (1) Oases are often associated with palms8 , which serve as its primary and highest stratum; (2) What follows is the intermediate stratum that is composed of fruit trees9 and the like; (3) Third stratum is composed of shade-tolerant plants, such as herbs. 10 Oases can help in the conservation of freshwater reserves, 11 especially through the aid of commercially-viable palm species 12 as a primary stratum.
There are already many palm species locally, which include coconuts13 and oil palm. 14 Some inland species that can still be tapped include the Nipa Palm, which can be a source of weaving raw materials, sugar, tubá, and bioethanol. 15 bAlthough it normally thrives around brackish16 waters, some of Nipa palm can tolerate17 freshwater environments. “Oasis” concept can be a foundational concept of “resurrecting” the lands affected by desertification and saltwater intrusion, with associated studies on the evolutionary transition18 of seawater and brackish-water species to freshwater environments, and vice versa.
Vincent Carlo Duran Cuzon 