Climate adaptive practices, key to long-term growth of farming, fishing communities

Sustainable agricultural and fishing practices are in the heart of what we do to help farmers and fisher folk secure stable sources of livelihood and sustenance for their families. Our work at the Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (PhilDHRRA) with the remotest and poorest farming and fishing communities has shown us that, while getting monetary and equipment assistance helps to promote these sectors in a big way, there is a bigger and pressing need to educate these communities to think of longer term sustainable growth.

Case in point – last year’s devastation by Typhoon Ompong in Northern Luzon caused shortages of rice, vegetables, and livestock in the country. Food security issues that arose exposed the gaps in this sector in providing for the country’s demand for food. Furthermore, it shed light on the vulnerabilities of farmers and fisher folks, many of whom subsist on less than P5,000 monthly income. They could not provide for the country’s food needs in bad times, much less their own when it’s good.

Unpredictable and extreme weather conditions have resulted in slower growth for the country’s agricultural out-put. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that while farm output increased by 0.56% in 2018, it’s much lower than the 4% growth posted in 2017.

The communities we work with primarily rely on farming and fishing for their survival. Getting their participation in climate change adaptive practices is a real challenge; after all, it is difficult for a hungry person to even think about the future.

Still we press on informing them about the benefits of sustainable agriculture and coastal management practices to sustain growth in yield.

We shared farming mitigation measures to prevent further environmental damage, like soil erosion and soil acidity, caused by agricultural activities. We educated farmers the benefits of planting buffer plants like bamboo and shrubs along streams and using organic farm techniques and fertilizers to keep the soil fertile. (To be continued)