BANGUED, Abra(PIA) -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) is making sure that the province of Abra would be able to sustain productivity and food security despite the risks posed by climate change. 

The DA in partnership with the Benguet State University held a dialogue with at least 35 farmer-leaders and municipal government representatives to validate the results of the Climate Risk Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA) recently conducted under the “Targeting and Prioritization for the Adaptation and Mitigation Initiative in Agriculture (AMIA) in Abra.”

Project leader Dr. Lynn Talkasen said that the program is a research-based initiative of the DA to promote climate change-resilient agriculture in farming villages by increasing the adaptive capacity and productivity of farmers.

“The CRVA shows us which municipalities of Abra are vulnerable to climate change. Dinno diayay production areas tayo nga mayat tatta ngem no 2050, due to climate change, adda ba ti changes iti temperature, precipitation da? mayat latta ba ti production tayo ditoy? [Where are the production areas that are good now, but how about in 2050 due to climate change, are there changes in temperature, or precipitation? Is their production still good?]," she explained. 

Aside from looking into the vulnerability of farming communities, the project also checked on the effects of climate change on the activities of farmers,  from seed procurement to marketing, and the economic value of the technologies farmers use. 

The project that started in the province in February 2023 is a basis for insights and recommendations for policy-making, planning, and implementation of programs towards a resilient agriculture in Abra.

“Based on the result ket of course adda da dagitoy areas nga pimmintas, agbalin to nga mas mayat ti production da ngem majority ket bumaba ti suitability na, ibig sabihin saanen nga napintas jay climate by 2050 para ti production da ti rice or corn [Based on the results, there are, of course, areas that improved, becoming more productive but majority decreased in suitability, which means climate will no longer be good by 2050 for the production of rice or corn],” Talkasen shared. 

For rice production, the municipalities of Sallapadan, Langiden, Lagangilang, San Juan were identified to have very high vulnerability to climate change by 2050. Corn production in the towns of Langiden, La Paz, Lagangilang, Sallapadan, and Manabo also have very high vulnerability to climate change.

Based on the assessment results, other identified priority crops such as coffee in Licuan-Baay, Sallapadan, Bucloc, and Daguioman; and mango in Langiden, Bangued, San Juan, Dolores, Peñarrubia, Sallapadan, and Villaviciosa are also highly vulnerable to climate change. 

Farming communities with very high vulnerability have very high chances of not being able to cope up with the adverse effects of climate change.

These data and other results from the CRVA will be used to identify AMIA villages in the province. 

AMIA villages are model communities for climate-resilient agriculture. These government-assisted villages will have access to climate-relevant support services through institutional and technological innovations and be go-to places for other communities to learn and replicate climate-resilient agricultural practices. 

“Yung ating mga farmers naman very resilient as Filipinos but yung ating agriculture ay very vulnerable talaga; and sa climate change adaptation is nakikita pa din natin ‘yung impact ng mga government programs talaga,” Talkasen added. (JJPM, PIA-CAR)