UBAO, Ifugao – Personnel from the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera (DA-CAR) together with the partner farmers’ and cooperative associations (FCAs) underwent a hands-on training on participatory rapid appraisal (PRA) in Ubao, Aguinaldo, Ifugao recently.
During the PRA process, the community needs and researchable areas were identified, guiding the development of a community action plan. The participants, including the researchers, Adaptation and Mitigation Initiative in Agriculture (AMIA) Program implementers, and farmers’ associations namely Buti-e Farmers Association and Hulbo Farmers Small Water Irrigation System Association were equipped with contextualized PRA tools and techniques that are suitable for the community context.
This is important to encourage the participants, particularly the community involved to take active roles in identifying their climatic challenges and areas prone to climate-related risks, and at the same time, come up with adaptation strategies to cope with the situation.
The hands-on training is aligned with the capability and training programs provided by the DA-CAR’s AMIA Program. The Program provides technical assistance and capacity building to support the implementation of climate change adaptation strategies in agriculture, acknowledging the importance of understanding community-specific challenges for successful program implementation.
Aguinaldo municipality in Ifugao was identified as one of the vulnerable areas prone to climate-related risks with moderate adaptability, emphasizing the need for prioritized measures to address these challenges, as revealed by the Climate Risk Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA) conducted in Ifugao by the Benguet State University from May 2023 to March 2024.
Said activity is being conducted by the DA-CAR AMIA Program in coordination with the Research Division. The team is set to conduct a series of PRA in Rizal, Kalinga; Paracelis, Mountain Province; and Flora, Apayao this year. By Sherry Antonio-Ngongot
