Press Release
October 11, 2009

LOREN PUSHES FOR AGRO-FORESTRY AS RESPONSE
TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Iloilo City - In the aftermath of Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng that extensively damaged farmlands in the country, Sen. Loren Legarda sought the cooperation of local government leaders in the national government's efforts to combat climate change and salvage the country's agro-forestry reserves. Legarda spoke at the Conference on Climate Change Adaptation through Agroforestry in Iloilo yesterday.

"Not only is climate change a threat to our agro-forestry resources. Climate change is, in effect, a threat to our basic human rights--food security, potable water, shelter, decent livelihood and life itself," warned Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, and the newly formed Senate Committee on Climate Change.

The Department of Agriculture reported that while initial damage on the country's agricultural resources has amounted to P6.3 Billion, the estimated cost is expectected to rise as continuing assessment of the Pepeng's and Ondoy's aggravate effects to farmlands are still on-going. The DA estimates that the farm output growth target has been reduced by 2% after the typhoons.

Legarda illustrated: "by the end of the century, there will be a decline in Asia's Crop yield potential by 19% and that of the Philippines' rice yield by 75%. The intermittent rainy and the dry seasons will require a different cycle of crop planting. Frequent flooding due to the increasing number of typhoons will likewise impair food production."

In Laguna alone, towns are still submerged in floodwater, thereby hampering the agricultural activities of the province. The floodwaters are expected to subside only in late-December of this year. Similarly, other agriculture-heavy provinces in Northern Luzon have reported massive damages on their farms, which would have been ready for harvest or for the next planting season.

"These unusual typhoon patterns that cause serious flooding and landslides are clear manifestations of climate change. As majority of our local trade comes from agricultural produce, we cannot deny the detriment caused by climate change to out people to our agro-forestry resources," emphasized Legarda, who holds the distinction as the United Nation's Regional Champion for Climate Change.

In another report, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has pointed out that the two recent typhoons will further dampen economic growth this year. It said the growth rate for the economy may be cut by 0.2% at the end of the year, largely due to the damage that the agriculture sector has endured. The agriculture and infrastructure segments combined, both typhoons have created damages of about P9.76 billion.

Legarda thus called on the urgent development of the country's agroforestry as a combined solution to the problems in agriculture and environment. It addresses food shortage and maintains a balanced eco-system. Through agroforestry, farmers' incomes are augmented, since cash crops are planted simultaneously with forest trees. She also assured that agroforestry is also an excellent strategy for climate change response, having a positive mitigation effect. It has high carbon sequestration capacity, averaging at 50 tons per hectare for humid zones, such the Philippines.

Legarda stressed that with the potentials of agroforestry for climate change adaptation, there is a need to intensify public awareness of the impacts of climate change and the benefits of promoting agroforestry to enhance the country's adaptive capacity; enhance central government-local government coordination, planning, and funding mechanism to boost agroforestry in the country in support of sustainable development; improve compilation of relevant scientific data to enable our farmers to adjust their planting practices to the changing climate; and to develop an effective system for disseminating technologies to agroforest farmers affected by climate change.

Legarda concluded with a challenge: "It is an issue for the local and national governments as it is a reality confronting our communities and families in our daily lives. It is both our debt and duty to the earth and to our children's children to tackle climate change solve it not tomorrow, but today."

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