Published on July 2020 | Climate Change

Climate change trends, impacts and adaptation of upland farmers in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines

This study analyzed the climatic trends and characterized the adaptation strategies in response to climatic change impacts to crop production, water resources and household economy of upland farmers in the Valley of La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines. A total of 106 farmers were selected by getting the 20 percent of the total number of farm households from the 4 selected barangays in La Trinidad. Climatic data was also taken into account to assess if there is change in the climate. Study showed that the mean annual minimum temperature revealed a significant increasing trend at an annual rate of 0.004 ± 0.002ﹾC from 1950 to 2017 and an increase of 0.21ﹾC in the mean that occurred from 1995 to 2017. The mean annual maximum temperature also indicated an increasing annual rate of 0.01 ± 0.003ﹾC and a significant increase of 0.67ﹾC in the mean that occurred in 1977 to 2017. In terms of rainfall, no significant trends and changes were detected in both means and variances. The result signifies that climate change took place in the area. Climate change impacts are currently negatively affecting the crop production, water resources and household economy of the farmers. To cope up with the climate change impacts, various adaptations strategies were developed by the farmers based on the knowledge they acquired from their years of experiences in farming. They employed this adaptation from their own material and financial resources.