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Parallel Sessions 4: Systems and Tools for Analysing Climate Change Impacts and Vulnerability51The study inferred that climate change-induced impacts would have an overall negative effect on keyPhilippine agricultural sectors, and thus on the overall economy. According to Dr. Vista, this wouldnecessitate the adoption of mitigating measures by farmers and the local government units or LGUs inseveral areas:• Boosting the fishery sector may lessen the impact of climate change on the Philippineeconomy, e.g., increasing the capacity of commercial fishing and aquaculture operators. (ThePhilippine fishery sector is less vulnerable to the impacts of climate change compared toother 137 economies of the world. - Allison et al., 2009)• Adoption of organic farming practices – need for some transitional subsidies from thegovernment to support the promotion of indigenous practices that will result in diversifiedfarming.• Thinking globally and buying local produce may be advantageous for the domestic economyin the short run.• There is a need for targeted safety nets for the affected stakeholders given decline inemployment and failure in food crop production.Q: What would account for the relatively flat employment trend for the agricultural sector compared tothe total employment figures?A: The study did not really go into that… perhaps it could be due to increased mechanization or shift tocorporate farming.Comment: Some of the mitigating measures you mentioned cannot be done at the farmers’ or even theLGU levels without the enabling environment. The national government may have to step in with thenecessary policy interventions to make them work.Suggestion: The author should have considered the conversion of agricultural lands to residential areasamong the simulation scenarios.International Conference on Climate Change Impactsand Adaptation for Food and Environmental SecurityConference Summary Report