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| Dumingag Peoples Climate Information Center (By jdc) |
DUMINGAG, Zamboanga del Sur—First of its kind, Dumingag Peoples Climate Information Center helped out farmers forecast climate condition as it response to changes in their agro-ecosystem.
To help farmers forecast variations in climate, the
Rice Watch and Action Network (R1), in partnership with the local government of
this town and the Philippine Atmospheric and Geophysical Astronomical Services
Administration (PAGASA), initiated the Climate Resiliency Field School (CrFS)
towards a climate-informed, sustainable and resilient agriculture.
Rice Watch and Action Network is a group of
organizations working individually and collectively to pursue policy changes in
rice particularly in the area of trade and the nature of rice farming systems
in the Philippines.
The DPCIC local weather station
gives off available information for ten days forecasting to address the
specific agro-climate local condition of various farming situations for the
needs of local farmers.
In an interview, information officer
Butch Cabilan told this paper the digital weather station is an add-on to rich
indigenous and local knowledge and practices in responding to variations in
climate elements and aberration in the rainfall patterns and intensities.
Cabilan farmers can better adapt to
the climate change impacts and manage climates risk if they are armed with
skills, knowledge and information on different adaptation measures.
He added access to appropriate
technologies, timely and local climate forecast information is imperative for
farming communities to manage the risks in agriculture brought by changing
climate.
The
CrFS was instrumental in providing and sharing information including climate
forecast and related information, farming knowledge, technologies and skills in
building and strengthening the capacities of farmers.
The
first CrFS experience was pioneered by the Municipality of Dumangas, Iloilo
which they called Climate Field School.
R1’s
CrFS module promotes awareness on climatic factors affecting crops, the use of
a variety of climate-friendly farming approaches that not only focuses on
management of a specific crop.
The
module inherently promotes diversification as a climate resiliency and
sustainable measure. It also highlights the importance of organizing into a
farmers’ organization that could help them access government support programs,
as well as the necessity of crop insurance to shield the farmers from the
ravage of changing climate.
The
main goal of R1’s CrFS is to build and institutionalize Early Warning System (EWS)
for Agriculture.
A
critical component of this EWS in agriculture would be the setting up of the
Municipal Climate Information and Monitoring Center.
This
center will record local weather data, localize and disseminate weather, and
climate forecast and advisories; liaise with PAGASA and determine their own
climate change impact thresholds as the center moves towards a more precise,
climate-informed, strictly localized municipal climate change adaptation plan.
