Adaptation Options for Small Rice Farmers in the Philippines

Abstract

Rice is a staple food for 90% of Filipinos. Around 11.5 million farmers and family members depend on the rice industry as their means of livelihood. Thirty-three per cent of the country’s agricultural lands are devoted to rice. Rice farming, however, is being threatened by climate change, which is primarily manifested in the changing intensity and length of the rainy season and average rainfall in the Philippines. The general objective of this study was to document two cases of small rice farmers’ adaptation to the changing climate, especially significant variation in the intensity and length of the rainy season and average rainfall in the Philippines.