Read More - Philippine Institute for Development Studies

More documents

Recommendations

Info

22 SCF Folio For instance, given the observed “anomalies” in the surface conditions like the sea surface temperatures associated with an El Niño, the probability of having the “above normal” rainfall is 15 percent; the “near normal” is 35 percent; and the “lower than normal” is 50 percent. This means that the chance or probability for experiencing “lower than normal” rainfall or a drier episode is higher at 50 percent. However, precisely because the probability is only 50 percent, there is also equally a 50 percent likelihood that this condition of getting “lower than normal” rainfall may not happen. As such, there is still a degree of uncertainty attached to the forecasts. Moreover, it should be noted that the forecasts for a particular period may vary across different locations depending on various other factors like topography. The ACIAR-sponsored SCF project: what it hopes to do Following the presentations on the concepts related to SCFs, project team member from PAGASA, Dr. Flaviana Hilario, presented the rationale and objectives of the “Bridging the gap...” project as well as the activities that it will undertake in order to address the project’s objectives. Among the objectives are: (a) to improve the capacity of PAGASA to develop and deliver SCFs for the case study regions of the Philippines, including the province of Isabela; (b) to estimate the potential economic value of SCFs for farm and policy case studies in the Philippines and Australia; (c) to identify the factors that may lead to gaps, if any, in the actual utilization by the stakeholders of the SCFs vis-à-vis the SCFs’ potential economic value; and (d) to develop and implement strategies to better match the forecasts (SCFs) with the stakeholders’ needs. Situation in the field: possible interventions to help How useful are SCFs and climate-related information to farmers and other agriculture decisionmakers in the field In order to have a better understanding of this, the SCF project conducted a number of case studies in selected sites. As mentioned earlier, certain locations in Isabela were selected as sites for the conduct of surveys and focus group discussions (FGDs) with farmers to get their knowledge, perception, and attitude on climate information and SCFs as well as to have more information about their farm production systems, points of decisionmaking, and coping mechanisms during extreme climate events. Dr. Celia Reyes, project team member from PIDS, presented the highlights of the results of the surveys and FGDs conducted among farmers in various sites in Isabela as well as their policy implications. The results indicate that despite of the many assistance programs extended by the national and local governments in Isabela, there is still much that need to be done. For one, while the respondents all agree on the importance and need for climate information and forecasts to help in their preparations against possible adverse climate effects, their actual adoption of risk management and mitigation measures falls short of the potential benefits that could be had because other related or complementary mitigation measures were either not present or inadequate. As gathered, the types and kinds of assistance needed and preferred by the farmers are: (a) better, and preferably localized, climate information; (b) accessible credit; (c) crop insurance; and (d) special assistance programs like irrigation and seeds provision. (Details of these preferred mitigation tools by farmers are discussed in the December 2007 issue of this SCF Project Updates newsletter.) A similar presentation that provides a comparative look at the farmers’ perception, knowledge, and attitudes on SCFs in the province of Nueva Ecija was then given by Ms. Rowena Manalili of the PhilRice team based on their farm and household surveys conducted in rainfed rice farming communities in said province. Disseminating SCFs: aiming for their better use Based on the field surveys, interviews, and the questions/comments raised during the open forum in this Isabela seminar-workshop, it became apparent that getting farmers and other stakeholders in agriculture to make good use of climate information and SCFs is premised on how well the information is understood and appreciated by them. The process therefore basically entails that said information are properly disseminated to them and thereupon explained thoroughly through information and education-sharing type of activities and methods. This, according to Ms. Jennifer Liguton of the PIDS project component team, is how the process of disseminating the SCFs should begin. Ms. Liguton then traced the present manner of disseminating SCFs as originating from the country’s national meteorological
23 agency, PAGASA, and sent out to the various national agencies and media, with the hope that such information are brought by these entities across and down to the various loci of potential users and decisionmakers in agriculture. Unfortunately, as gathered during the discussions, not all the targeted users—basically the farmers—are able to get the information in the manner that will be most useful to them based on this present dissemination scheme. In most cases, it becomes clear that not all national agencies pass on the information immediately and appropriately down to their regional, provincial, and municipal offices and not all information channeled over radio, television, and print media feature the implications that are relevant for the intended users to know. Thereupon, the implication is for PAGASA to adopt a deliberate strategy for dissemination that makes use of conduits and various partners that may provide useful interpretations and sector-specific advice regarding the climate information and forecasts. Ms. Liguton enumerated some of these conduits/partners that may be tapped, namely: • local government units. Partnerships with them through Memoranda of Agreement (MOA) may be initiated by PAGASA, with the provincial level as the locus which will thereupon course the SCFs to the next lower levels; • extension workers. Agricultural field workers, being natural links with farmers, will play a major role in disseminating, explaining, and interpreting the SCFs to farmers as well as giving them appropriate advice on how to make the best use of the SCFs; • traders/suppliers. Being the major source of financing for farmers, they have a direct link with farmers and given the proper information and knowledge about SCFs, they may also provide appropriate advice to farmers on the type and quantity of inputs to acquire and use; • media. Focused programs at certain given times most practical for farmers may be co-developed with PAGASA; • community leaders/farm leaders. Being looked up by farmers, they can serve as good disseminators of climate news, forecasts, and advice; • research and academic-based institutions. Those engaged in agriculture- and climate-related research projects and have regular contacts with farmers and farmer groups are also logical partners; and • NGOs, including faith/church-based groups. In recent years, a number of these groups have involved themselves in environmental concerns and thus may be tapped to help in the dissemination and interpretation of SCFs during their regular congregation meetings. There are, however, requirements called for to ensure the successful use of the abovementioned potential conduits/partners in dissemination. Among them are: (a) formalized partnerships through the forging of agreements such as in PAGASA with LGUs, PAGASA with media, LGUs with traders/financiers, and PAGASA with research and academic institutions; (b) appropriate training for the partners/conduits on the interpretation of SCFs and on the meaning of their probabilistic nature of forecasting; (c) regular briefings; (d) seminar-workshops; and (e) development and distribution of appropriate printed informational materials about SCFs like manuals, brochures, posters, calendars, comics, and newsletters with the help of research and academic institutions. See Figure 1 for a proposed dissemination chart for Isabela using such conduits. Having their say: feedback from the participants The stimulating open discussions where the participants fielded questions, gave comments, and raised points of clarifications are a gauge of how receptive the participants were to understanding and making use of SCFs in their respective realm of decisionmaking in agriculture in Isabela. The following are the points taken up. Dissemination of climate information and forecasts Forging of a MOA between PAGASA and the provincial government of Isabela where the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) will be the center of all climate information received as well as the one responsible for relaying the information to all the Offices of Municipal Agriculturist (OMAs) and units below. In response to the Isabela Provincial Agriculturist’s (Mr. Danilo Tumamao) request that PAGASA sends its forecasts directly to the OPA as well as to the OMAs so that these offices will be the ones to share the information with their local executives, Dr. Nilo suggested that all information, i.e., forecasts, advisories, etc., related to agriculture that PAGASA produces be sent directly to the OPA which will thereupon be responsible for relaying the information to all the OMAs and other units below. After some discussions, it was agreed that a MOA between PAGASA and the provincial government of
Page 1 and 2: SCF Folio A compilation of informat
Page 3 and 4: 3 Administration (PAGASA), the Phil
Page 5 and 6: 5 Learning the basics Dr. John Mull
Page 7 and 8: 7 The dry season is also subdivided
Page 9 and 10: 9 Tropical cyclone average tracks J
Page 11 and 12: 11 inevitably have impacts on the v
Page 13 and 14: 13 Reaching out and increasing awar
Page 15 and 16: 15 To ensure that the SCFs are rend
Page 17 and 18: Communicating through climate indic
Page 19 and 20: 19 Table 1. Awareness, usefulness,
Page 21: 21 Very often, this leads to extrem
Page 25 and 26: 25 municipality. LGUs may send in t
Page 27 and 28: 27 SCF is popular in Bukidnon but..
Page 29 and 30: 29 the Provincial Agriculture Offic
Page 31 and 32: 31 Analysis and research/survey res
Page 33 and 34: 33 As the results in this initial s
Page 35 and 36: 35 Table 2. El Niño and La Niña e
Page 37 and 38: 37 average, and wet years were calc
Page 39 and 40: 39 local corn growers. In guiding f
Page 41 and 42: 41 dominated regions of northern Ne
Page 43 and 44: 43 The influence of ENSO on frost r
Page 45 and 46: 45 It is the timing of the latest f
Page 47 and 48: A model for valuing seasonal climat
Page 49 and 50: 49 And on rice crop... Nueva Ecija
Page 51 and 52: 51 Security against climate variabi
Page 53 and 54: 53 been dominating the Table 1. Bor
Page 55 and 56: 55 The need to help rice and corn f
Page 57 and 58: 57 Figure 1. Rainfall outlook, July
Page 59 and 60: 59 In Cebu: use of SCF gives higher
Page 61 and 62: 61 units of N fertilizer based on g
Page 63 and 64: 63 Determining corn farmers’ deci
Page 65 and 66: 65 Table 2. Farmers’ responses to
Page 67 and 68: 67 Project Team Australia Dr. Peter

Read More - Philippine Institute for Development Studies

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?