Climate Field School: An Innnovative Approach to Agricultural Adaptation

Dumangas, Iloilo is a coastal town located in the island of Panay, Visayas, Philippines with most of its area devoted to agriculture and fisheries. However, the town experiences two extreme conditions: drought during the dry season, and flooding during the rainy season—where for the latter, 65% of the total area of Dumangas is usually inundated. Consequently, farmers experience difficulty in monitoring and maintaining their crops.  As the local government’s initial step to help the farmers adjust to the adverse impacts of climate change, the municipal government of Dumangas started the Climate Field School (CFS) Program in 2007. The CFS Program was first launched and applied in Indramayu, Indonesia. The Municipality of Dumangas is the first in the Philippines, and second in Asia, to adopt this program. Aside from being able to help the farmers increase farm production, the CFS program enhances the farmers’ adaptive capacity, while addressing poverty and reducing vulnerability and their causes.  In 2008, Dumangas had a significant increase in rice production. It even surpassed the municipality of Pototan, Iloilo—the biggest rice producer in Western Visayas. In 2011, Dumangas continued to be one of the dominant rice producers. The municipality and the farmers saw this success as a result of the CFS program. CFS enabled them to monitor the changing weather and adjust their farming practices. Hence, they were able to maintain good quality agricultural products despite the continuous threats posted by climate change.