Climate crisis takes a high cost on farmers in Ifugao, with the changing weather patterns and water shortages, which lead to lower farm produce and higher market prices for vegetables.
Despite the vegetables on the Lagawe Public Market costing from PhP 80 to PhP 90 on sale, local farmers struggle to profit.
This is due to the effects of weather variability and irregularities such as isolated and unexpected heavy rains and excessive heat evident throughout the province. These climatic events impact agricultural productivity and economic stability.
CROP PRODUCTION CHALLENGES
According to Marcelo Banhan, Lagawe Municipal Agriculturist, efforts are made to ensure the presence of water for irrigation through programs like spring development by collecting and storing water in tanks.
“But water sources run dry during the summer season, as well as the collected water can be fully consumed,” he mentioned. This causes some farmers to wait until the next rainy season to plant crops.
Banhan added: “Another problem is the Lagawe Public Market has a limited capacity for marketing agricultural products, which means that mass volumes of agricultural products have to be marketed to the Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural Trading Center (NVATC), but the prices are unstable and change every day.”
Some of the unfortunate farmers would wait for the prices to rise at a good, favorable rate, while some would dump them along the roadside due to low farm gate prices.
Janice Martines, from the Provincial Agriculture Office, said the quality of the agricultural products is lowered due to the changes in the crops phenological characteristics, given that the sizes of the harvest are smaller than before.
“The unpredictable weather has also caused the faster emergence of pests and diseases on plant crops,” she stated.
AID TO FARMERS
Banhan advised the farmers to register to the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) which gives insurance protection from losses caused by natural calamities and pest infestations.
Moreover, the farmers who have sought the help of the Municipal Agriculture Office can sell their produce to the employees of the Municipal Local Government.
The Department of Agriculture, together with the Municipal Agriculture Office, could only help the farmers by giving away seedlings and fertilizers, together with financial assistance as part of its regular and productivity enhancement program.//Adam B. Kibad
