Documentation of Good Adaptation Strategies and Practices to Climate Change by Selected Higher Institutions in the

Institution: State University, Cabagan, Isabela

Researchers: Eileen C. Bernardo and Myrna T. Ramos

Ecosystem: Agricultural; lowland (Corn)

Methodology: Interview Stories narrated by respondents

Respondents: Farmers

No. of respondents: Five (5)

I. FRAMEWORK

Climate change is one of the biggest environmental, social and economic threats. Projections on climate change shows that the global temperature is continuously increasing. Based on the Third Assessment Repost of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2001), the world average temperature will increase by 1.4 C to 5.8 C between 1990 and 2100 if the current levels of emission are not reduced. This is mainly due to anthropogenic sources such as the use of fossil fuels especially in the developed countries.

The effects of extreme climatic conditions associated with climate change have impacts to developing countries. The Philippines is vulnerable to climate change. Natural disasters such as floods, droughts, and typhoons are becoming frequent.

The extreme climate variabilities experienced in Isabela province include strong typhoons such as Typhoons Imbudo and Paeng (a supertyphoon) in July 2003 and November 2006, respectively. Very recently, in November 2008, some barangays in the municipality of Cabagan were flooded. These are among the impacts of climate change that are already being seen in the municipality. Typhoons are frequent in Isabela and floods are common in some parts of the northern part of the province including the town of Cabagan. Cabagan is being traversed by the River.

This study documents some good adaptation strategies and practices to climate change by farmers living near the Isabela State University in Cabagan, Isabela.

II. BACKROUND

DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA

The municipality of Cabagan in Isabela province is bounded on the north by the municipalities of Sta. Maria and San Pablo; on the south by the municipalities of and Santo Tomas; on the west by the municipality of Quezon in Isabela and the provinces of Kalinga and Apayao; and on the east by the Sierra Madre Mountain Range. It is about 34 kilometers away from City in the province of Cagayan, the regional center of Region 2 ( Region), and about 50 kilometers away from , the capital town of Isabela province. It is approximately 265 kilometers from the City of Manila.

Cabagan has an area of about 430 square kilometers (43,000 hectares). It occupies about 2.43% of the land area of the province. It includes the Sierra Madre mountain range on the eastern and western parts of the municipality.

CLIMATE CHANGE/VARIABILITY IN CABAGAN

Due to the poor infrastructure and location - Cabagan is particularly vulnerable to climate change.

The climate of Cabagan falls under two distinct types namely; Type III and IV. Type III is characterized by no pronounced season, relatively wet from May to October, dry for the rest of the year. Maximum rain period are not very pronounced, dry season lasts from one to three months. The area is partly sheltered from the northeast monsoon and trade winds but open to the southwest monsoon or at least to frequent storms. Type IV is characterized by the even distribution of rainfall throughout the year. The most common air currents in the country are northeast monsoon (from the higher pressure of Asia), the trade winds (from the Pacific), and the southeast monsoon (from the southern hemisphere). The general direction of the winds from these sources are from north to east (October to January) from the east to the southeast (February to April) and southerly (from May to September).

The hottest months of the year are the months of May and June with a temperature of 31 degrees centigrade. The lowest recorded temperature is in the month of January with 24 degrees centigrade.

The agricultural sector in Cabagan is particularly vulnerable to climate change. There is therefore a need to adopt measures to reduce the impacts of climate change. Adaptation to climate change is an option.

Five-Year Rainfall Data

700 600 500 1993 1994 400 1995 300 1996 200 1997 100 Amount Amount of Rainfall in mm 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Month

Five-Year Raifall Data 600

500

400 1998 1999 300 2000 200 2001 2002

100 Amount Amount of Rainfall in mm 0

April May June July March January August October February November September December Month

Five-Year Rainfall Data

600

500 2003 400 2004 300 2005 200 2006 100 Series5

0 Amount Amount of Rainfall in mm

April May June July March January August October February November September December Month

Fig.1. Rainfall data from 1992-2007 (Source: PAG-ASA, Tuguegarao City, Cagayan)

Figure 1 shows the rainfall data taken from the Tuguegarao station of PAGASA. Cabagan is about 34 km from Tuguegarao City. The three highest amounts of rainfall noted were in October 1996, August 2005 and July 2004.

METHODOLOGY

The researchers interviewed five farmer-respondents. The interview was done in Ybanag, Tagalog and English. The respondents were allowed to narrate and tell their stories on adaption strategies and practices on climate change. The interview guide used by the researchers is shown in Appendix A.

SOURCE OF INFORMATION

Primary data were obtained from the five farmer-respondents who practiced adaptation strategies that they learned formally and from experiences. Secondary data were obtained from PAGASA in its Tuguegarao office and from the provincial office of the Department of Agriculture in Ilagan, Isabela.

III. DESCRIPTION OF THE ADAPTATION STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES OF THE FIVE FARMER-RESPONDENTS

THE RESPONDENTS

Respondent 1

Ruel Lazaro is 47 years old and is a resident of Catabayungan, Cabagan, Isabela. He is married to an elementary teacher. They have three children, two are high school students and his youngest is in elementary. A B. S. Forestry and Master of Forestry graduate of the Isabela State University Cabagan, he works in an NGO (DAI) as a full time employee, doing environment-related work. He is a part time farmer. He supervises his farm during weekends and holidays. Involved in corn farming for 14 years, he farms two parcels of land of 1.2 hectares.

The respondent’s adaptation strategies

The farm land of Mr. Lazaro is submerged in water when there is too much rain. It is called ‘lower vega’. In this area, the time of planting does not synchronize with other corn farms since farmers still have to wait for the rainy season to pass before they could plant, otherwise their crop will be under water.

Fig. 2. The farm located in the lower vega.

On flooding in the area, he observed that, before, if it rains for three straight days, the height of water level would be about three meters. These days, it can reach about five meters high. This happened last November 2008 when it continuously rained for two weeks. Figure 2 shows the planted corn after the flood in November 2008 that destroyed the corn planted during the previous season.

Figure 3. The height of the flood (about 4 m) in November 2008 as shown by the dried muddy leaves.

Mr. Lazaro's adaptation strategies to climate change is more scientific. He uses multicropping to enhance soil quality, and less dependence on inorganic fertilizer. He uses organic fertilizer to increase fertility of soil. Farm wastes are not burned, but instead, these are mixed with soil to allow decomposition process. If the weather is dry, he employs or uses foliar fertilizer rather than applying fertilizer into the soil which does not dissolve if there is no rain. Before planting, he soaks the seeds for not more than 12 hours to give the seeds an “early” advantage. He observes that by soaking the seeds, germination will be uniform and even when rain is a bit delayed, germination will not be affected. He also employs seed dressing to increase yield. He follows synchronized planting to avoid pest attacks. If the weather bureau announces their weather forecast that drought is coming, Mr. Lazaro uses drought resistant seed variety.

Respondent 2

Ireneo Talosig, Sr. is 70 years old and is involved in corn farming for 50 years. He has nine children. His wife is a plain housewife. They have a sari-sari store. He also owns a cow, a pig, grows chicken and has backyard vegetables. He also owns a tricycle for family use. His children help in the household needs. He farms a 0.5 hectare land with corn. His farm is in a flood plain (lower vega).

The respondent’s adaptation strategies

Mang Ireneo has observed that with the changing weather and climatic conditions, there are more frequent instances where corn harvest has been affected. Since the weather is not that predictable now, he sometimes plants even before the usual planting season. In his farm, he usually plants for the first cropping in the month of May and the second cropping in the month of December (while in the upper vega, second cropping is done in the month of October). The second cropping is late as compared to the other farm lands at the upper vega because at the lower vega, flooding is always experienced before the second week of December. To be safe, it has been their practice to plant after December 8 so that the anticipated flooding will not destroy their investment. But this practice is not always followed now because sometimes the expected flooding does not occur. Mang Ireneo planted his second cropping this year in November. He said that since the weather is not predictable, he decided to plant as early as November hoping that there will be no flooding by December. He said that if the weather will cooperate he can have a good harvest.

Mang Ireneo also plants mungbean in between cropping. He plants in the month of August after the first cropping. This provides an extra income. It also improves the fertility of the soil. Sometimes he does not wait for the mungbean to be harvested. He plows the field so that the growing mungbean will be incorporated and allowed to decay. This practice helps reduce his dependence on inorganic fertilizer and it was shared to him by one of his sons who have studied.

Mang Ireneo narrates that before, they only plant the native variety of corn and they do not employ insecticides and fertilizers. Due to the advancement of technology and with the promise of increased production, the yellow corn varieties are now the most prevalent variety planted. But once in a while he goes back to planting the native variety and does not use fertilizer or pesticides. This way he does not spend much from the expected high cost of inputs involved in the yellow corn production. Although sometimes even if he plants the yellow variety he does not also apply the required fertilizer or insecticides since he does not want to risk his money. He feels that good harvest these days occurs only by chance.

Respondent 3

Miguel P. Ramos is a retired professor of Agriculture. He is now 69 years old. He is a resident of Ngarag, Cabagan, Isabela and is engaged in corn farming for 35 years now. He has been farming a three hectare-farm for 33 years and six hectares for two years.

The respondent’s adaptation strategies

Dr. Ramos observed that the weather or climatic condition is now erratic. He observed that even during wet season, drought is experienced and vise versa. He has also observed that the soil is quick to dry even during the supposedly cold months (from November to February). This affects plant growth and eventually, productivity.

In the event that rain is limited during planting season, he irrigates his farm. He said that it is not that cost effective but he does it anyway to save what have been planted and to have a little income rather than loosing everything from drought.

He mentioned that even the corn seed producers have also considered the changing weather conditions in the kind of seed varieties they produce. Now there are drought resistant varieties which could be used in case of drought.

Respondent 4

Teodoro “Doroy” M. Bautista is 37 years old and is a resident of Ugad, Cabagan, Isabela. He has four kids, who are all in the elementary school. His wife is a plain housewife. He is involved in corn farming and has a farming experience of 10 years. He owns a 0.7 hectare farm of corn land and works as a tenant for another two parcels of land of about 0.3 hectares. All these three land parcels are found at the lower vega (flood plain) which is under water when there is too much rain.

The respondent’s adaptation strategies

Doroy is just one of the many farmers who depend on money lenders for his farm inputs. Many corn traders act as money lenders to farmers. This kind of relationship is good on both parties if the harvest is good. But harvest is not always good. Corn farmers’ harvest is very much dependent on good weather condition, meaning rain at the right time and amount. If there is too much rain or lack of it the harvest is not that sure.

Flooding is usual in the farm parcels that Doroy farms but he recognizes that the climate is different now as compared 10 years ago. He narrates that when it rains too much, the usual level of water before would be just about two meters but now the level of water would reach to about four meters. With this condition, he usually delays his planting to allow the water to subside. There are also cases where he has already planted when too much rain comes and his farms were all under water. He has to repeat the whole planting process hoping that it will be fine for the second time. To Doroy, this again means an additional debt.

Delayed arrival of rain can also cause the crop to fail. Just recently, he lost his investment due to the delayed onset of rain. He planted even when there is not enough soil moisture expecting that rain would come. The expected rain did not come so his plants did not grow. He again replanted when there was enough soil moisture and since his planting is already delayed the plants were attacked by pests. He harvested only 24 cavans of the usual 54 cavans expected harvest.

He said that he is always hopeful that he can profit in the next cropping season, so he keeps on investing even to the point of accumulating debt if the harvest is not what is always expected. In the past when the harvest is good he was able to settle his debts and had some extra money for the needs of his family.

Doroy owns four cows and he uses two of these cows in his farm. The family also maintains a small garden at their backyard that is planted with eggplants, camote and gabi. The produce is consumed by the family. In between his activities in his farm, Doroy also works as a hired laborer whenever somebody needs him. This partly sustains him and his family’s needs.

Respondent 5

Andrew Malabug is a janitor at a government agency. He is 53 years old with 9 children. His six children are studying and still depending on him. Two are in college, another two are in high school and the other two are in elementary. His wife is a plain housewife.

His income as a janitor could not meet his family’s basic needs so he has engaged into farming to augment his income as a janitor. Farming comes naturally to him since he is born to parents who are farmers. He has been tilling his own land for about 35 years now. He owns a 3 hectare-corn land and a land intended for rice production. His income in farming is much better than his income as a janitor.

Mang Andrew owns two carabaos which he uses in farming. His family also raises pigs to for special occasions such as fiesta. Furthermore, his family maintains vegetable garden within their backyard to provide them with the vegetables they need. Some of which are sold when their produce exceeds their consumption.

The respondent’s adaptation strategies

Mang Andrew narrates that the climatic condition now is unpredictable or erratic as compared before. During the supposedly rainy months, rain is delayed or if it comes it does not bring the expected volume of water to sustain good plant growth and development. If this happens, Mang Andrew does not put his money to risk. He still plants when there is enough soil moisture, but he does not put the recommended amount of fertilizer input which, he said, is so costly. He said that if ever the yield is less, he will not lose a lot of money.

Mang Andrew’s three siblings are also farmers. In order to save cost in labor, his family and the family of his siblings come together to work in the farm that needed manual labor. Their meals are provided by the owner of the land but no labor cost is paid. The labor cost will be given back as labor also to the family that needs it.

Andrew says the times are getting hard with the weather being unpredictable. One cannot fully rely on the income from corn farming more so with the increasing prize of the inputs. But he concludes that getting through the hard times requires “diskarte”.

Summary of the Respondents’ Adaptation Strategies

Respondent Adaptation Strategies 1 Use of multicropping to increase soil quality; use of organic fertilizer; seed soaking; and seed dressing.

2 Planting the first cropping in May and the second in December (instead of the usual planting in October); planting mungbean in between cropping; no fertilizer in puts to lessen the amount of money at risk.

3 Irrigating the farm; planting drought-resistant varieties of corn 4 Delay in planting until flood subsides

5 Planting when there is still soil moisture; not following the recommended amount of fertilizer; bayanihan among families

IV.

Appendix A

Interview Guide

Documentation of Good Adaptation Strategies and Practices to Climate Change in Low Land Corn Farms

Name: ______Age:______Civil status: ( ) Single ( ) Married ( ) Widow/Widower ( ) Separated : ______Main Source of livelihood (Corn farming): Estimated annual income/ha.:______Other sources of livelihood:______

Length of farming involvement: ______How often planting is done in a year?: ______Do you use irrigation water during dry season?:______

Inputs: Seeds: Type:______How many years used: ______If changed, why? ______Source: ______Cost: ______

Fertilizers: Type:______How many years used: ______If changed, why? ______Source: ______Cost: ______

Pesticides: Type:______How many years used: ______If changed, why? ______Source: ______Cost: ______

Have you increased the amount of fertilizers or pesticides used over the years? What is the reason for the increase of fertilizer or pesticide input? ______

Aside from the planting practices generally employed in corn production/farming, have you developed any other practice that you think is effective especially with the changing whether conditions? ______

Have you experienced abnormal occurrences of pest outbreak? If yes, when? How often?:______

Others:______