Bontoc, Mountain Province- Aiming to capacitate the communities of the province towards disaster resiliency while mitigating the effects of climate change in local agriculture, demo farms will be introduced to the municipalities of Sadanga and Bauko as the pilot areas.
This is through the project, “Disaster Risk Reduction of Climate Change Impacts on Vulnerable Farms in Mountain Province,” spearheaded by the Mountain Province State Polytechnic College (MPSPC).
Barangay Monamon Sur of Bauko and Barangay Anabel of Sadanga were selected as the project fields by the Science and Technology Action Frontline for Emergencies and Hazards (SAFE) program, basing its ground on the 2013-2016 Municipal Annual reports. As to record, these municipalities were identified the most vulnerable areas with histories of crop damage and soil erosion attributed to climate change.
Accordingly, Bauko is one of the main producer of commercial semi-temperate vegetables such as cabbage, potato, while potato, carrots, garden pea, and tapered sweet pepper. Meanwhile, Sadanga is also a source of field bean and sweet potato. However, these communities experience hazard issues in their farms such as soil erosion, soil infertility, pests and diseases, and water shortage among others.
To kick-off the project, MPSPC as the project holder, coordinated with the Provincial Local Government Unit-Mountain Province (PLGU-MP), and Municipal Local Government Unit (MLGU) of Sadanga and Bauko through the Municipal Agricultural Office (MAO) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRRM) Office for the conduct of meetings among the project team and the pilot communities. It also cooperated with the Department of Science and Technology-Cordillera Administrative Region (DOST-CAR) and Farmers Association of the two municipalities for further support.
As a result, an inception meeting and the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the MPSPC and Sadanga-MLGU was held on October 25, 2017. It will also be conducted in the municipality of Bauko sometime in November.
Designated MPSPC Extension Director Elmer D. Pakipak introduced the project to seek the support of the community. He explained how it will be implemented, pointing out that the project needs the cooperation of the stakeholders from the beginning of the project until it will end to make it successful.
During the meeting, farmer-cooperators from the farmer organizations are asked to take-charge of the demo-farms. Two clusters of farmer-cooperators composed of 15 members will be organized, one per municipality in each year to work hand-in-hand with the local team.
The local team will be composed of the Project Leader, Technical Experts, farm-leader and LGU representatives as Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation (DRR/CCA) Champion, DOST representative, Science Research Assistant and Science Aide.
Given the two-year time frame for the project that shall start this 2017 until 2019, technologies for the demo-farm will be introduced to the stakeholders. These include the construction of rainwater harvesting tank for irrigation water, installation of simple drip systems during summer months, installation of plastic-tunnel as crop shelters during the rainy months, cropping patterns using resilient varieties, soil fertility management for resilient varieties and pest and disease management of crops in the sites.
Pakipak noted that the Science and Technology intervention will spearhead the development of resilient farms against adverse impacts of climate change. He hoped that the demo-farms will be effective and adaptable in the identified areas.
Further, Pakipak emphasized that it will suffice the knowledge of the farmers in farm management and would somehow address the current problems on the agricultural farms.
Throughout the duration of implementation, the project is expected to provide two rainwater harvesting tank, two tunnel type crop shelters and two training modules for the recipient communities. The project will also train two farmer leaders and seven LGU officials/employees as Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) pool of champions, train 28 farmer cooperators and capacitate two women’s group. In addition, it will produce three Information and Education Campaign (IEC) materials, forge two MOA on DRR/CCA sustainability and create a policy on DRR/CCA for agriculture covering the municipal and barangay level.
The proposed total budget for the implementation of the project in Sadanga and Bauko is PhP 8,783,847.00. The budget shall be allocated by the different agencies along with the sufficed counterpart of the stakeholders.
MPSPC President Rexton F. Chakas, in a separate interview remarked that disaster resiliency and climate change adaptation and mitigation has been part of the program thrust of the college.
Dr. Chakas added that through its research and extension services, the MPSPC reaches out to communities and extends assistance for the upliftment of the constituents’ economic activities. He also assured the academe’s continuous support and enthusiasm to partner with the LGUs and other agencies in bringing their programs and services closer to the people of the province.
MPSPC is one among the six State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) that are stakeholders of the SAFE’s projects on ‘Disaster Risk Reduction of Climate Change Impacts on Agricultural Farms’ in the Cordillera. .
The SAFE projects were approved by the Philippine Council of Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources, Research and Development (PCAARRD) for implementation. **Rose D. Dagupen and Alpine L. Killa, PIO-MP
