Selected Observations of Climate Change Adaptation Among Philippine Rice Farmers
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Climate-related stressors, such as rising temperatures, unpredictable precipitation, and intense natural disasters, have severely hindered agricultural growth in the Philippines. Climate projections are predicted to exacerbate pre-existing vulnerabilities within the sector, and farmers are at the forefront of such impacts. This capstone examines how rice farmers in the Philippines are adapting to the threats of a changing environment by exploring how they view climate risks, what their coping strategies are, and how larger socioecological contexts influence their adaptation capacities. Data was collected from semi-structured interviews with individual farmers, farmer associations, and key informants from government and non-government organizations in the Philippines. The study found that farmers were experiencing the effect of climate change largely through extreme weather events, such as typhoons, floods, and drought. Moreover, they experienced socioeconomic stressors and institutional constraints that limited the scope of their adaptations. Farmers’ responses included the testing (and sometimes adoption) of new technologies and cropping systems, income diversification, and environmental restoration. Recommendations for improving the adaptive capacity of rice farmers to climate change suggest that multi-stakeholder collaboration is necessary for achieving equitable and effective change.