Farmers will most likely agree that reduced crop yield and livestock disease as the main effects of climate change on agriculture that have substantially impacted the country’s economy.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said that the seasonally adjusted value of crop production in the second quarter of this year slumped by 4.8 percent due to the decrease in the value of palay, corn, and sugarcane.
One of the main factors that contribute to the decline of agricultural productivity is climate change, along with limited land productivity, the emergence of new crop diseases and pests, and weather shocks, among others.
While rising temperatures caused by climate change can accelerate crop development, it often results in reduced grain production. In addition, higher temperatures make it difficult for plants to access moisture as evaporation increases, making them lose more water through transpiration.
30-year-old Roxas, Palawan farmer Rudy Dangan said that he and his wife, Diana, used to farm their land and grow palay until last year. According to the Barangay Minara resident, climate change effects and scarcity of water caused the decline in their yield, which prompted them to work as farm laborers instead.
The rising cost of fertilizers and pesticides also made it difficult for Dangan to sustain farming as a livelihood.
Zosima Reduble-Caabay, 70, of Barangay Antonino in Roxas town likewise claimed that rice farming is no longer profitable due to high production costs.
Reduble-Caabay’s parents were also farmers in the 1905s.
Other climate change effects such as heat waves and flooding also disrupt crop yield and the delivery of food supply, causing prices of basic food products and commodities to spike. These extreme weather shifts likewise affect livestock through shortages in animal feeds and the spread of parasites and diseases like the recent African Swine Fever (ASF).
The Department of Agriculture (DA) reported a significant decline in the number of registered pigs since the ASF outbreak in 2019. According to official records, the pig population in commercial farms dropped by 41.7% in 2021. By 2023, the number of registered pigs further decreased, falling approximately 20.5% compared to 2020.
ASF resulted in trade restrictions, economic losses, and an increase in pork prices, a burden to livestock farmers, traders, and even meat dealers.
