By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff reporter
LAOAG CITY—Ilocos farmers who
are frequently hit by typhoon and prolonged drought in this northern part of
Luzon may now start availing the so-called People’s Survival Fund (PSF), the
national government provides to qualified applicants.
After participating in a
whole-day water summit workshop where all the issues, concerns and possible
solutions were identified by farmers
themselves and their respective local government units, Erika Erro, a
representative of the Climate Change Commission who served as a keynote speaker
in behalf of Secretary Emmanuel de Guzman told farmers here the government has
allocated one billion pesos sourced from the national budget to finance
projects that prevent or mitigate the effects of climate change and natural
disasters.
Frequently hit by flooding
and drought, the farmers zanjera associations from the 21 municipalities and
two cities of Ilocos Norte who actively participated in the workshop identified
specific projects that could help them mitigate the impact of climate change in
their livelihood.
Among the common projects
identified to increase farmers’ resiliency and adaptation measures include the
urgent repair and rehabilitation of irrigation systems, construction of small
water impounding dams, flood-control projects, practice of organic farming
including vermiculture, provision of modern farming machineries, distribution
of livestock and climate-resilient crops, more establishments of fish
sanctuaries, low-cost housing for those living in highly-vulnerable areas due
to storm surge and flooding and the continuing tree planting activities to
enhance existing watersheds and help address dwindling water supply.
According to Ms. Erro,
farmers and LGUs with proposed projects related to climate change component can
be funded through the PSF.
“Just submit the work plan
and follow the mechanism,” she said as she sat down with farmers during the
workshop to assist them how to prepare a project proposal.
Recipients of the special
fund may include local government units (LGUs) with high poverty incidence and
are exposed to climate risks.
In Ilocos Norte, residents
here continue to experience prolong drought, thus, decreasing farmers’
productivity.
In 2012, President Benigno
Aquino III signed the PSF but it took a while before it was implemented to
finalize the mechanisms under it.
World Bank record shows the
Philippines faces economic losses from climate change amounting to 2.5 percent
of our gross domestic product (GDP) per year. In 2010, this equaled to about
US$45 billion. Such losses are expected to increase to up to US$418 billion in
2030.
Comments
Post a Comment