Message: on Climate Resiliency Field School Training of Trainers

Message of Deputy Speaker and Antique Congresswoman Loren Legarda

Climate Resiliency Field School Training of Trainers

02 September 2019 | Pandan, Antique

My fellow Antiqueños, Good morning.

Thank you for your participation in the Climate Resiliency Field School Training, a program that I have been supporting since I have chaired the Senate Committee on Finance.

As we all know, Antique is under a state of calamity due to the impact of El Niño, which has devastated our rice production to the tune of P10.5 million pesos in losses. It has been reported that a farmer who used to harvest 32 sacks of palay from a half-hectare farm was able to harvest only 12 sacks this year, a decline of more than 60 percent.

Our fisheries production has also declined by 4.5 percent from its year-ago level, with municipal fisheries suffering the biggest decrease, at 17.5 percent.

As with other provinces in the country, we are bound to face destruction and losses from climate impacts – from inundated coastlines to drought, if we fail to reduce the risks now. The latest available science tells us that climate and disaster risks will have far-reaching impact on water supply, crop yield, food production, and ecosystem functions. Sea level rise, projected to be at three times the global average and which must be studiously monitored, could be devastating to our coastal towns.

We should not only recognize, but also be able to adapt to, climate change to be able to mitigate its deleterious effects, for these threaten to affect our lives and livelihoods and erode our economic and development gains.

In my first State of the District Address last month, I have emphasized Agricultural resilience as part of a blueprint for Antique. We must enhance the resilience of our agricultural and fishing communities amidst climate change.

To achieve this, we will invest in and mobilize local climate action, locally-led adaptation. We will sustain and scale up Climate Field Schools for farmers and fisherfolk. We will ensure that climate resilience is baked into our provincial and municipal development and investment plans. We will build our capacity to design and implement measures, and access technologies and finance. While we build up technical knowledge and capabilities, we will also instill “resilience thinking” at the household level. We will turn our communities into learning “laboratories” of good adaptation practices. We will scale up targeted efforts tailored to our specific challenges and needs to avoid severe effects on livelihoods, public health, and our economy.

My fellow Antiqueños, all these programs and capacity building initiatives will be nothing without your full support and cooperation.

I wish to thank all of you for joining this training program. Your participation signifies your willingness to join our advocacy of mainstreaming climate action at the grassroots level.

As local government leaders, agriculturists, and agricultural extension workers, your role is crucial in bridging the gap between science, policy, and local action.

May this capacity building activity inspire each and every one of you to take a more active role in our collective mission of building a climate-smart and disaster-resilient Antique.

Duro-duro gid nga salamat!