Dumangas, Iloilo—The negative impact of climate change is threatening food security in many countries, specifically agriculture-based economies, international organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank said.

Like many agricultural provinces in the country, this town regularly suffers from severe drought and flooding caused by climate change, that is aggravated by its geographical location.

For almost two decades, this town of 67,000 people, most of them farmers and fishermen, has experienced severe losses in human and animal lives as well as destruction in crops, properties and infrastructure.

Municipal engineer Saul Deasis said natural disasters and climate change must be dealt with by learning the science of nature and empowering the citizens, especially farmers and fishermen, in learning how to address the problem.

He said the town government has long been addressing droughts and severe flooding through infrastructure solutions like the construction of a megadike and flood-control projects to lessen the impact of severe flooding.

“But the most effective solution to the negative impact of climate change is to retool the farmers on the global phenomenon and help them deal with the problem so they would be able to save crops and even increase production,” said Deasis.

Although considered a small town in Iloilo, Dumangas is host to the Philippines’ first Climate Forecasting School (CFS) established last year in coordination with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa). The CFS is part of the efforts to re-tool farmers in dealing with climate change. The first CFS in Southeast Asia is in Indramayu, Indonesia.

More than 88 percent of Dumangas’s total land area of 11,355.50 hectares are devoted to agriculture and it is the second top producing town of Iloilo.

But Deasis said Dumangas is prone to flooding from the months of June to December because it is located at the tail end of the Jalaur River—the biggest waterway on Panay Island. Dumangas is also traversed by six rivers and bounded by the sea, he added.

“From January to May, Dumangas experiences severe drought that cause damage to crops because it is located at the tail end of the Jalaur-Suage Irrigation System that has dilapidated water gates and canals,” said Deasis.

Last year at least 88 farmers graduated from the CFS and the next batch of farmers will attend classes from June to September this year.

Farmer graduates of CFS attested that dealing with the negative impact of climate change through climate forecasting offers a solution to the Philippines, that is now facing a crisis owing to decrease in rice production.

“My harvest almost doubled in a year after I attended the CFS,” said a Dumangas farmer told reporters in Ilonggo. He is one of the 88 farmers who attended the 12-week CFS session being conducted every Saturday.

Because of the increase in harvest, Deasis said the town can now save part of its meager P63-million annual budget to accommodate more farmer students at CFS.

Pablo Demaisip Jr., municipal agriculturist, explained that CFS is patterned after the Integrated Pest Management Program of the Department of Agiculture. It is part of the Climate Change and Forecasting Center (CCFC) established last year in coordination with Pagasa.

“The farmers are taught to develop a deeper appreciation of the impacts of climate and weather change in their farming activities and to base their decisions in scientific forecasts obtained from Pagasa and CCFC,” said Demaisip.

He explained that the forecasting is done through the Dumangas Agro Meteorological Station where farmers obtain forecast on seasonal climate on a regular basis. The forecast content and information from the agro-meteorological station are being submitted daily to Pagasa for interpretation and then sent back to farmers in Dumangas, translated in simple terms.

Demaisip added the forecasts advise the farmers “what to expect, possible scenarios and recommend course of action.”

The town spends an annual budget of P200,000 for the operation and maintenance of the agro-meteorological station for the CCFC and a separate P150,000 per batch of farmer students at CFS.

The journalists’ visit to Dumangas is part of the program of the British donor companies Christian Aid and Oxfam to increase awareness on the impact of natural and man-made disasters through dialogue and integration by media members and nongovernment organizations.

At least 50 journalists nationwide organized by the Center for Community Journalism and Development (CCJD) attended a four-day forum in Iloilo City to increase awareness on the NGO efforts on Disaster Risk Reduction at the community level.

Military blamed for rights violations

A fact-finding mission commissioned by an international group to investigate alleged human-rights violations in the country has accused military personnel in the abductions of activists accused of being members or sympathizers of the  New People’s Army (NPA).

THE Armed Forces welcomed on Monday a proposal to integrate members of the New People’s Army (NPA) who have already returned to the fold of law into the military and the police.

POLITICS, politics, politics everywhere has messed up a lot of lives of Filipinos and in the “rice crisis” has again reared its ugly head to stave off additional production of the staple that threatens to increase hunger, already rising from previous years.

LEGAZPI CITY—Two senators have declared that they will seek a Senate inquiry into the alleged misuse of the P10-billion Calamity Assistance Rehabilitation Efforts (Care) funds in the Bicol region.

A LEGISLATOR representing the agricultural sector has asked President Arroyo to certify as urgent two bills which that give more teeth to the antismuggling efforts of the government.

Dumangas, Iloilo—The negative impact of climate change is threatening food security in many countries, specifically agriculture-based economies, international organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank said.

BAGUIO CITY—With the P100-million restoration works done at the Teachers Camp, the Department of Education (DepEd) wants it to become the center for culture and the arts of the North.