nectarines

learning pains growing pains ~ it’s all part of the rites of a young working adult T_T you lose some and you gain some. be careful of your words even if they are well-intentioned, for interpretation is a beast. stay within your lane and lookout for those around you. don’t rush to act impulsively for actions have consequences and once it’s out it’s unretractable.

Don’t be afraid, you have to find your community. Your people your tribe. Those who will stand with you and fight with/for you.

one of the reasons why I joined the company that I'm with was to find out if big ag was the answer to sustainable ag. I think that there is a very strong argument in the importance of ag tech in addressing the challenges of climate change and population growth - especially in the role of hybridisation of seeds and varieties such that they are more resistant to droughts and floods. not too sure still about the role of crop protection products - I know that climate change changes pest pressure but at the moment I still feel that we are not yet able to deal with the problems that our solutions bring. and to fix the problems we need  people to work with the industry, not be sitting by the stands and criticising. my vision is that I would really love to see stakeholders united by the end goal rather than squabble over the different paths towards the destinations. there is a role for the public too - to understand the industry better to be discerning to find out and seek truth for themselves instead of relying on a bunch of algorithm programmed by the web to deliver news to them; I would like ngos to work with us for betterment of farming communities and to improve environmental health in areas that we are in, to tell us and teach us where we’ve gone wrong and how we can do better; I would like consumers to understand the industry better, and for us to also upload responsibility that we have towards consumers - to ensure that through our research and development, we bring the safest products to market, and that we work with regulators to ensure that they have clear mandate to deliver on collective food safety responsibility to consumers. was chatting with a few friends who were teachers and had to prepare a lesson plan on ‘gm and organic industry’, they had asked for my views on the industry and I shared with them that it makes sense for big ag to also care about sustainability, that our business and profits depend increasingly on how well we are able to integrate, deliver and communicate sustainability into our operations and r&d - my friend was intrigued and asked me to explain further. this struck me and I reflected on my own experience - prior to working in ag I would also be skeptical about businesses’ that claim to have sustainability as their top priority. but having pint a year and a half in one, I see that because our end customers are farmers, because we are serving and operating in a primary industry dependent on the ability for natural resources, nature and ecosystems to be functional, it makes sense for us to invest in the health and conservation of these resources. because we operate in an industry which produces food, one of the basic fundamental needs of humanity, consumers hold us accountable to deliver food that is safe and nutritious and have the power to undermine our business if we are not able to do so. there is power in collective public voices, and it is only right that we start leaning in to listen to these voice, to work with them instead of being defensive. 

What I learned from a particularly tough week: 1. you don't have to win all the time - you don't have to always be on the plum projects, to fight hard to appear smart 2. it's ok to get the shorter end of the stick sometimes - it's ok to let others win sometimes 3. you don't have to be putting fires out all the time to feel productive. there are crisis and then there are quiets - enjoy your down time. 4. everything changes all the time - you can't always control people's attitudes towards you, what you get to work on, gossips etc 5. but you have complete control over your self-care - the world around you can crumble but you don't have to go together with it. love yourself, do things for you, you don't owe nobody nothing 6. when all else fails, put on your nikes, coldplay, lany, and get out for a run. let your frustrations, annoyance and confusion fuel your miles. come back to a hot/cold shower with nice smelling soap, and have an early night. you do you - go everyone having a hard week. hang in there. it's difficult only because we feel we can do more, we have so much more to give of ourselves.