Climate change will hit the poorest Filipinos the hardest’ (Conclusion)

Building resilience

The impact of climate change on agriculture will hit the poorest Filipinos first and hardest, so exploring ways to help farmers adapt to the changing climate is of critical importance in the Philippines, according to William Dar, director general of the India-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.

“Our farmers in the Philippines are very vulnerable. You have seen them badly affected during ferocious typhoons as well during prolonged droughts. And these events will be more frequent and more extremes and more severe,” Dar told the BusinessMirror.

Dar highlighted the need for the government support and access to capacity-building measures and investment for farmers, adding that people, to include farmers, have to adapt to and cope with climate change.

“We need to fortify existing coping mechanisms when there is climate variability and change. Indigenous knowledge will help plus new technologies like planting more drought-tolerant, flood-resistant and heat-resistant crops,” Dar said. “Education, science and technology and strong institutions are key to adapting to climate change.”

Dar said the Philippine government needs to strengthen its environmental programs such as plant more trees, and conserve and protect watershed areas. He specifically mentioned that the carrying capacity of the Cordilleras is overexploited.

“Sustainable and ecological farming will be key. There should be increasing investments in breeding drought-tolerant and heat-resistant crops,” he said. “Acting now will  be cheaper than waiting for future developments.”

Dar said new strategies must be built around “green” agricultural technologies, such as adaptive plant breeding, pest forecasting, rainwater harvesting and fertilizer microdozing, where small amounts of fertilizer are given to each seed.

He said better land and crop management are equally important. There are already some promising and economically viable technologies to reduce the risk of crop failure, and improve soil fertility and increase productivity under variable climatic conditions, he added.

Tackling the future challenge

AS extreme weather will likely increase with climate change, developing countries like the Philippines that are dependent on agriculture urgently need better policies that support agricultural adaptation and mitigation measures, said Philippines Climate Change Commission vice chairman Heherson Alvarez.

“We need to urgently address this issue as it also endangers our food security and the capability of the poor to cope with and adapt to climate change impacts,” Alvarez said, adding that the imposition of levy on carbon-dioxide emissions and the development of insurance schemes for agricultural crops and infrastructures could also be beneficial to the agricultural sector.

Dar said that this early, the Philippine government must put up its long-term strategy to adapting to climate change followed by sustained implementation of an action plan for the medium term.

“Invest in creating institutions that will have focus on adaptation to climate change and one of these ideas in the establishment of a Philippine Rainfed Agriculture Research Institute (PhilRAI),” Dar said as he explained that the PhilRAI will focus on developing drought-tolerant and heat- resistant crops.

The government must enhance the knowledge and appreciation of the citizenry including the farmers of the potential consequences and impacts of climate change, he said. Coping mechanisms, Dar said, should be strengthened including early warning systems.

For now, millions of farmers in the country like Cawili, Saleng, Condino and Sino have no choice but to confront the challenge brought forth by climate change head on, knowing that the world, as they knew it, is slowly ceasing to exist. –Imelda V. Abaño / Correspondent, Businessmirror