Dulce D. Elazegui

Social and institutional dimensions of climate change adaptation

Purpose – The Philippines is among the countries vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change. However, many local government units (LGUs) and the people themselves are not aware of the climate change phenomenon and do not have the capacity to undertake appropriate climate change adaptation measures. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the climate change adaptation strategies of communities and LGUs and the barriers and recommendations to enhance their adaptive capacity.Design/methodology/approach – The study covered five communities vulnerable to climate change impacts. Information on extreme climatic events and their impacts and adaptation strategies undertaken were gathered through focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews. LGU staff members were assisted in the preparation of their climate change adaptation plan (CCAP).Findings – The LGUs and communities have low adaptive capacity and employed temporary adaptation strategies. Strong social cohesion and spontaneous collecti...

Agricultural Water Management Issues in the Philippines

This chapter discusses the role of water management and governance in agriculture as it affects irrigation and agricultural productivity. The governance framework discusses the various actors involved in water in agriculture and the policy environment, which, in turn, affect the irrigation development performance. The country’s performance in agricultural water management is assessed in terms of area irrigated by public investments, cropping intensity, collection efficiency, and productivity impact. To improve performance and agricultural productivity, the major challenges facing national and communal irrigation systems are identified. These challenges require policy changes to address poor performance, unsustainability of systems, and weak management capacities.

The Role of Agricultural Public Extension in a Private-Led Technological Innovation

This chapter determines the role of the government extension system in a private-led technological innovation by investigating farmer adoption of genetically engineered (GE) corn varieties and reviews policies governing the Philippine agricultural extension system. The data used were gathered through interviews with 1,200 corn farmers and key informant interviews with private and government stakeholders. The following results were obtained from the study: GE corn is widely adopted; farmers consider GE corn varieties safe for humans, animals, environment, and other crops; the promotional campaign of the private companies focus on the economic benefits associated with its use; co-farmers and government extension workers were the major sources of agricultural information; farmers and extension workers lack accurate knowledge about GE corn varieties; and the number of GE corn farmers and GE corn hectarage at the local level is not adequately monitored. The study concludes that orientation about GE corn varieties should be provided for the local extension workers, who serve as the farmers’ direct source of agricultural information, so they can guide farmers to make informed decisions; and local extension workers should take an active role in the monitoring of GE corn adoption within the locality to provide data for policy decision making.