BAGUIO CITY – In its effort to develop Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA) services and information through the use of low-emission technologies, three provinces in the Cordillera region has been identified by the Department of Agriculture (DA) together with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) to be part the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for the Adapting Philippine Agriculture to Climate Change (APA) program.
At least 1.25 million impoverished farming households in these areas have been identified by the project, serving nine provinces in five regions in the country particularly region’s 2, 5, 10, 12, and the Cordillera especially Apayao, Ifugao, and Kalinga. These beneficiaries will benefit directly from the project, while over 5 million people will indirectly benefit from domestic resources.
Regional Technical Director for Operations Danilo Daguio of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) explained during the two-day APA conference held at DA-CAR on October 7-8 this year, that APA offices will begin installing offices in the various project-affected regions including CAR, per instructions from the central office. Project implementation is scheduled to begin in January of next year and run until 2030.
“APA is a special program which is in addition to the Philippine Rural Development Program or PRDP aside from several locally funded projects of DA-CAR including our banner programs and other programs being implemented in the region. This special project will require the cooperation of everyone involved specially the support services of the regional office,” Daguio said.
The Green Climate Fund is providing $26.3 million funding for the seven-year APA Project, which began in 2023 and will run until 2030 grant from the Green Climate Fund, with counterpart funding of $12.9 million from the DA and PAGASA represents the commitment of both national and international bodies to foster climate resilience in Philippine agriculture.
The project represents a significant step forward in the fight against climate change, setting a precedent for future initiatives aimed at safeguarding the livelihoods of Filipino farmers and creating a sustainable and resilient agricultural sector in the Philippines.
With continued collaboration and dedicated efforts, the project aims to ensure that Filipino farmers in Apayao, Ifugao, and Kalinga are equipped with the knowledge, tools, and support they need to thrive in a changing environment.
Stakeholder participants from various sectors coming from the identified areas in the Cordillera discussed the objectives, strategies, and expected outcomes following a briefing of the APA project.
The participants underwent a workshop that served as a platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration, emphasizing the importance of providing climate information services, promoting climate-resilient agriculture or CRA technologies, and developing CRA enterprises that are crucial elements in building a resilient agricultural sector capable of withstanding the impacts of climate change. By JTLlanes