Adapting to climate change in the Philippines
In July 2015, the World Agroforestry Centre – Philippines invited 27 farmer leaders and agricultural technicians from Lantapan, Bukidnon Province, to a training workshop on sustainable, tree-based farming activities. The workshop was one of the activities carried out during the second year of the Climate-Smart, Tree-based Co-investment in Adaptation and Mitigation in Asia (Smart Tree-Invest) Project, which is supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the CGIAR Research Programme on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry. One of the objectives of the project is to help local communities devise climate-smart practices using trees on their farms in collaboration with local governments and the private sector.
Participants visited the Conservation Agriculture with Trees (CAWT) centre in Claveria, Misamis Oriental Province, where they learnt about different farming systems and practices, including vegetable agroforestry, rubber agroforestry, cocoa agroforestry and conservation agriculture with trees. They also learned about the importance of rainwater harvesting and the use of animal-built embankments and animal-drawn scrapers. During the training, the farmer leaders and technicians planned how they would integrate these sorts of systems on their farms and in their villages, and identified available resources that could be used.
Farmers were also consulted with regard to the development of a co-investment scheme in their municipality. These schemes typically involve communities and other sectors investing in the protection of environmental services, such as clean air and reduced soil erosion. They discussed who should participate in any such scheme and what activities could be funded through co-investment. They also identified specific climate-smart tree-based farming activities which would be appropriate.
Regine Evangelista, one of the Smart Tree- Invest researchers in the Philippines, was encouraged by the enthusiasm shown by the workshop participants. “When they return to their villages, they will share what they’ve learned with the neighbours, and by practising these climate-smart farming systems themselves, they will inspire others to do the same,” she says.
