Adaptation Strategies to Climate Variability Used by Farming Households in Selected Municipalities in Romblon Province, Philippines

Abstract

Resilience in communities is further fueled by understanding adaptation strategies and socioeconomic factors. Climate variability significantly impacts agriculture and livelihood in resource-rich areas such as the Province of Romblon. This study utilizes a descriptive-correlational research design.  Problem finding about adaptation strategies used by farm households and whether any correlation exists between the socioeconomic characteristics of these households, gender roles, and the chosen adaptation measures. Based on proportional allocation, 313 registered farming households were sampled randomly through the stratified sampling technique. The data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, Chi-square, and Pearson correlation tests. Most households depend on crop farming, and farmers in the area are highly conversant with the different types of climate change, its causes, and effects. Some of the adaptation strategies used were crop diversification, irrigation, mulching, and crop insurance, but a lack of government support and high costs of inputs plagued these strategies. For the gender roles, men took on marketing- and mechanization-related operations, while women were mainly responsible for post-harvest activities. Correlation was found between women's adaptation and access to credit, irrigation, agricultural inputs, government support payments, and training. More experienced and older farmers were found to be better at adaptation. However, larger family size was not observed to foster adaptation.  Interventions to improve adaptive capacities should provide enough support to target the barriers of finance and access, taking gender-inclusive approaches. Policy intervention has to deal with financial backing, technology dissemination, and gender-sensitive training. Future research should explore community-based strategies to manage climate variability sustainably.