CHAPTER 7 FOOD MARKET ADAPTATION STRATEGIES TO CLIMATE CHANGE AGNES R. CHUPUNGCO, MIRIAM R. NGUYEN, ZENAIDA M. SUMALDE, AND ARMAND CHRISTOPHER C. ROLA The study aimed to determine the adaptation strategies of traders of rice, vegetables, root crops, fish, poultry, and livestock for food security under conditions of climate change. To achieve the objectives of the study, key informant interviews of barangay officials and 32 agricultural traders in the high elevation barangays of Nagcarlan, medium elevation barangays of Liliw, and low elevation barangays of Sta. Cruz, as well as major public markets of Nagcarlan and Sta. Cruz, all in the province of Laguna, was done in 2014. The key barangay officials and agricultural traders considered strong typhoons and floods as extreme events. Unforgettable extreme events were Typhoons Ondoy in September 2009, Santi in October 2009, Milenyo in September 2006 and the habagat (southwest monsoon) in July 2012, as well as the floods in some Sta. Cruz barangays caused by Ondoy, Santi and the habagat, which lasted from less than a month to six months. Extreme events do not seem to have an effect on the buying and selling prices of rice, chicken and pork. The sale of fish and shellfish, however, are hampered during these extreme events. Market prices of vegetables, root crops, and fruits are generally much higher during severe weather; although the volume sold is much less, the profit per kilogram of these agricultural commodities is much higher during extreme events. The effects of extreme events on the food trade do not vary much across elevations; one distinct difference, though, is in the vegetable sales of the barangays that are prone to flooding; when their fields are inundated with floodwaters, crops are destroyed and they have nothing to sell. Notable problems encountered by traders include limited capital, delayed payment of buyers, high prices and price fluctuations, and spoilage of agricultural commodities, especially during the rainy season. Adaptation strategies of traders during extreme events include resting for two to three days, decreasing or increasing the volume handled of commodities, refraining from slaughtering pigs, and mixing frozen cuts of chicken with fresh ones. Since market prices are generally higher during extreme events, it is recommended that these prices be monitored at the barangay level. Establishing a market information network and setting price ceilings for some commodities could help. It is also important that food security be ensured at all times. Some traders pointed out that there is a need for a bagsakan or trading center for agricultural commodities in the barangay; some hope to have their own stall in the market; others want loans with low interest rates to increase their capital. Keywords: agricultural traders, food market, extreme events, adaptation strategies ENVIRONMENT AND FOOD SECURITY INTERACTIONS AMID CLIMATE CHANGE INTRODUCTION Background of the Study Typhoons, flooding, heat stress, and drought can result in significant declines in crop yields and fish, poultry and livestock production, posing risks to food security and the environment. The emerging trends in climate change and its increasing negative impacts on food security and the environment need urgent attention by the government and the entire citizenry. It is imperative that food adaptation strategies to climate change, corresponding coping mechanisms, and necessary structural adjustments be carried out to sustain or improve food availability, accessibility, and utilization, especially in vulnerable areas. An understanding of the agricultural traders’ risk profiles, together with an analysis of the marketing system for food (including rice, vegetables, root crops, fruits, fish, poultry and livestock) and the roles of the various stakeholders in the food market industry, including the local government units (LGUs) responses to climate change and interactions with the people in the community, is crucial in formulating policies that would facilitate or improve adaptation strategies and coping mechanisms. It is therefore important that the flow of information, incentives, and the enabling environment be in place toward this end. Hence, the results of this study on food market adaptation strategies to climate change could be useful to the food market industry stakeholders in improving responses to climate change and in charting directions of policies and programs on food security, especially during extreme events. This study aims to determine the adaptation strategies of traders of rice, vegetables, root crops, fruits, fish, poultry, and livestock under conditions of climate change as they relate to food security. Specifically, the objectives of this study are to: 1. describe the socio-economic characteristics of farmers and traders living in the vulnerable and non-vulnerable areas covered by the Sta. Cruz Subwatershed; 2. determine the knowledge, attitude and perception of these traders about climate change and climate variability; 3. determine the adaptive strategies of these traders to manage and minimize the effects of climate change and variability on their food security and the factors affecting their adoption of such strategies; and, 4. recommend policy measures to improve food market adaptation strategies to climate change. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Food security has been exacerbated by the effects of climate change. Hence, adaptation strategies are necessary to cope with these changes. Potential damages of climate change and climate variability, according to Leary (2007), are dependent on the responses or adaptations to changes in the environment that people make. Furthermore, Howden et al. (2007) contended that achieving increased adaptation action will necessitate integration of climate change-related issues with other risk factors, such as climate variability and market risk, and with other policy domains, such as sustainable development. The vulnerability of people would tend to influence the means of adaptation or their response to change in the environment due to climate change. Meanwhile, the vulnerability of people or the potential for loss (Barnett and Adger 2007), depends on the “extent to which they are dependent on resources and ecosystem services, 128 FOOD MARKET ADAPTATION STRATEGIES the extent to which the resources and services they rely on are sensitive to climate change, and their capacity to adapt to changes in these resources and services.” Thus, according to Barnett and Adger, “the more people are dependent on climate sensitive forms of natural capital, and the less they rely on economic or social forms of capital, the more at risk they are from climate change” (2007). Handmer, Dovers, and Downing (1999) cited that vulnerability is an “aggregate measure of human welfare that integrates environmental, social, economic and political exposure to a range of harmful perturbations.” Parry et al. 2001 (in Fischer et al. 2005), stated that a consensus has emerged that developing countries are more vulnerable to climate change due to the following: predominance of agriculture in their economies, the scarcity of capital for adaptation measures, their warmer baseline climates, and their heightened exposure to extreme events. On the other hand, “institutions in the wealthy industrialized countries are robust and their societies appear to be relatively well insulated against the impact of climate variability, economic problems and so on” (Handmer et al. 1999). METHODOLOGY Secondary data were gathered from the provincial LGU of Laguna and the municipal LGUs of six selected towns, namely, Liliw, Magdalena, Sta. Cruz, Majayjay, Rizal and Nagcarlan, during the period of September to October 2013. Secondary data consisted of the provincial data on agricultural production, recent typhoons, ecological profile, investment programs, and development plans (i.e., Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan 2010-2017 and Provincial Development Plan), which were acquired from the provincial government offices of Laguna, such as the Provincial Agriculture Extension Services (PAES), the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO), and the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRM). Similarly, municipal level data related to climate change and food security, typhoons and other natural disasters for the six municipalities under the study were gathered from the Municipal Agriculture Offices (MAOs), Municipal Planning and Development Offices (MPDOs), Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices (MDRRMOs), and Municipal Social Welfare and Development Offices (MSWDOs). Primary information were likewise elicited from key informants consisting of barangay officials and agricultural traders in the identified six study barangays to draw some general information on current climate change issues as well as on traders’ adaptive strategies to the impacts of climate change on their marketing activities. A total of 32 agricultural traders (22 from the six barangays and 10 from the major public markets of Nagcarlan and Sta. Cruz) and six barangay officials were interviewed (table 7.1). RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Socio-demographic and Economic Profile of Agricultural Traders Age of traders interviewed ranged from 21 to 72 (table 7.2). All were female except for one male. All were married except for one single and two widows. Most respondents finished secondary to college level of education. Their main sources of income were mostly related to trade and business. The amount