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municipality. LGUs may send in their formal requests for
the installation of the instrument and likewise indicate if
they will be willing to enter into counterpart
arrangements with PAGASA on the operation and
maintenance of the rain gauges.
Relatedly, Isabela’s Assistant Provincial Planning and
Development Coordinator noted that since the rainfall
data of Echague do not give the true picture of the whole
province of Isabela, PAGASA previously distributed 11 rain
gauges to the following municipalities in Isabela: San
Mariano, San Guillermo, Roxas, San Isidro, Palanan, and
Reina Mercedes. Farmers from these areas are therefore
advised to get their climate data from the municipalities
where they come from and adjust their cropping patterns
accordingly.
Information on the probability and level
of accuracy of the SCFs
On the request for PAGASA to disseminate to the LGUs
and farmers, through radio broadcasts, also the probability
On the side: additional feedback
Supplementing the information/feedback gathered from the participants during the seminar-workshop and focus group discussions are
the insights gathered from the results of the evaluation and dissemination questionnaires given to the participants.
Below are some of the key points gathered.
On PAGASA’s products and services
A majority of the 71 participants who attended the seminar-workshop came from the LGU sector (48%), followed by the farmer sector
(32%), and government (20%) sector. Ninety-seven percent of the participants claimed that weather/climate is a factor in their
decisionmaking process while 62 percent of them said that the role of weather/climate in their decisionmaking is of critical value. Radio/
television ranked the highest—at 97 percent—as their main source of information on climate, followed by PAGASA station (52%) and
broadsheet/tabloids (38%). Ninety-three percent of the participants are familiar with PAGASA’s products and services, with the top three
products they are aware of being tropical cyclone warning, El Niño/La Niña advisories, and the annual seasonal climate forecast. Participants
rated PAGASA’s products in terms of accessibility, content, ease of understanding, timeliness, and delivery/medium of dissemination.
For accessibility, 48 percent said PAGASA’s products are very good; for content, 63 percent said they are very good; for ease of understanding,
45 percent said they are very easy to understand; for timeliness, 50 percent said they are timely; and for delivery/medium of dissemination,
53 percent said they are very effective.
As to the ways that PAGASA may improve their products, the suggestions include: improve accuracy of the weather forecast;
information must reach far-flung barangays; and more pamphlets be distributed for guide and localized forecasting. Essentially, the
participants wanted the PAGASA to exert greater effort in the dissemination of their products. They also said that they need climate
information so that the timing of planting and harvesting can be scheduled to minimize losses and increase their production.
On dissemination of climate information/SCFs
More seminar-workshops and better training of farmers are needed since they are the keys to better diffuse SCF knowledge. Participants
suggested some specific types of climate information that will benefit them. These are: when it’s going to rain; more accurate weather
updates; and length of dry spells. Seventy-eight percent of the participants wanted this kind of information every 2–3 months; 22 percent
said every quarter, and 13 percent, during the critical months. A majority of farmers prefer to receive this information through television
(19%), radio (16%), extension workers (12%), and print (11%). When asked about their role regarding the dissemination of SCF, 77
percent of the participants said that they are both users and disseminators of the information.
On the seminar-workshop
The top three recommendations given by the participants are:
• daily releases of news on SCFs through local TV and radio stations,
• increase in the percent assurance/accuracy or probability of the weather forecast, and
• designation of a PAGASA representative to be present during the local agriculturists’ regular meetings.
The participants found the seminar-workshop to be highly successful. They learned from the informative sessions on the basics of
Philippine climatology, climate outlook for Isabela, farmers’ perception on SCF, overview and the status of the project, and the dissemination
program of the project. They also found the seminar-workshop materials and handouts as well as posters on display, which are brief and
very informative, to be very useful. On the whole, the participants were extremely satisfied about the seminar-workshop because in
addition to the knowledge that they have gained, they were also able to have informal exchanges with other participants on various projects.