UPMIN To Hold Beekeeping Training

If you are interested in the "Bees" business then check out the 2-day Beekeeping Training which will be held on December 9 to 10, 2008 at the University of the Philippines Mindanao campus in Mintal, Davao City.

Beenet Mindanao president Epifanio Loyola, Jr. will be the lead resource person for the training. Beenet Mindanao is a network of beekeepers in the island. The Beekeeping Training will include the basic knowledge and techniques in hive management, the earning potential of the apiculture or beekeeping industry and operational knowledge in apiculture as a business enterprise.

A registration fee will be collected from the participants to cover expenses for snacks and lunch, seminar kit and instructional materials. A complete starter colony package consisting of a nucleus colony (one queen bee and three brood frames) and a standard hive will be sold after the training for those interested.

For inquiries and reservations you can contact Michael Gatela or Joel Sagadal at (082) 2930494, or (0919) 2515825.

Braga Blames Land Conversion, Imports For Scarcity Of Rice

Councilor Pilar Braga yesterday blamed land conversion from agriculture to housing and industrial use and the continued importation of rice as the culprits behind the present rice shortage in the country. However, she clarified that there is no rice shortage, only a rice-land shortage.

Braga also blamed the government's stance in discouraging people from becoming farmers by "discouraging agriculture as a way of life" leading to the closure of farming and agricultural schools in the country.

This reminded me of that time several years ago when the entry of the University of the Philippines in Mindanao is still being debated and protested by various universities here saying the state-financed university will only duplicate the existing courses being offered by the Mindanao institutions.

The defense of UP then was that they will offer different courses to differentiate itself to the other institutions. Several years later, UPMindanao is offering almost the same courses being offered by the other institutions like SocSci, Mathematics, Architecture, etc. Perhaps, introducing courses that are being offered by UP Los Baños will help in making sure that the country will produce better farmers in the years to come.

However, at the rate UPMindanao is going where politicking is a way of life and administrative officers are changed one after the other this may still be a long wait.

Prof. Araceli Dans-Lee Is UPMin's New CHSS Dean

Prof. Araceli Dans-Lee is the new dean of the University of the Philippines Mindanao College of Humanities and Social Sciences Division. Dans-Lee or Ma'am Marcy as we used to call her when I was still working at UPMin, was one of the most heartwarming professors without an air of superiority in UPMin and there are only few of them there. She would have UPMin's 1st Woman Chancellor had she succeeded in her bid but even an academic institution like UP is a haven of politics and Ma'am Marcy surely is not politician enough to get the necessary votes.

The College of Science and Mathematics or CSM also as a new Dean in the person of Prof. Reynaldo Abad. Abad is replacing Dr. Antonio Obsioma as head of the CSM. I ran into Sir Tony a few weeks ago and he proudly said he is retiring from administrative work and is going back to teaching full time. Sad. He is among the most well-loved personalities in UPMin even when he was still Vice Chancellor for Admin.