Socioecological analysis of smallholder farming systems in the Philippines : identifying multi-scalar pathways and barriers to resilience

Climate change poses serious threats to agriculture. The Philippines is one of the foremost countries impacted by climate change, with extensive coastlines, high population density and heavy dependence on agriculture. Many smallholders are struggling to cope with intensified typhoons, changing rain patterns, floods, droughts, as well as temperature and sea-level rise. As a primary staple crop embedded in the socioecological fabric of the Philippines, rice systems are of particular significance to resilience building efforts. This dissertation engages in a socioecological analysis of smallholder farming systems within the Philippine rice sector, with the broader aim to identify multi-scalar pathways and barriers to building climate resilience. Drawing on fieldwork conducted between August-December 2016, this dissertation shares the results of a comparative assessment of organic and conventional rice systems located in Negros Occidental Province, an institutional analysis of the organic transition currently underway in the Philippines, and an exploration of a grassroots farmer-led network and their polycentric food sovereignty development approach. Primary data was collected via surveys, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, farmer interviews, and participant observation. My findings suggest that participating organic rice systems are more climate resilient than their conventional counterparts. Despite increased institutional support for organic agriculture, institutional arrangements remain largely oriented toward promoting Green Revolution technologies; obstructing the speed and scale of organic transition and limiting smallholder capacities for building resilience. To overcome adverse socioecological conditions, smallholders have organized into a polycentric network to implement food sovereignty initiatives that increase farmer control over agricultural resources. This bottom-up and multi-scalar development approach has helped smallholders across the Philippines transition to diversified organic systems, as well as enhanced local capacities for resilience building. The evidence presented here suggests that enhancing smallholder resilience in the Philippines requires improving the socioecological conditions for farmers to engage in adaptation and mitigation strategies, as well as community development efforts to reduce their vulnerabilities. To this end, agricultural policy, development agencies, and researchers must work towards capacity building alongside farmers to regenerate agrobiodiversity and locally available resources, facilitate social learning and collective action, as well as address the root causes of their political economic marginalization.Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofGraduat

A Primer on Local Food Systems

First paragraph: Jennifer Robinson and James Farmer’s Selling Local: Why Local Food Movements Matter consoli­dates decades of research on the local food move­ment, drawing attention to the array of local food developments in the U.S. Midwest and Appalachia regions. The authors provide a narrative that weaves together voices from various stakeholders, taking the reader from farmers markets to community supported agriculture (CSA) to food hubs, while providing a scholarly analysis of the diverse capacities and limitations of these enterprises as well as offering a framework for assessing local food initiatives. The title and content page hint at the under­lying purpose of this book, which is to support the local food movement by identifying strengths, weaknesses, and leverage points that may be tap­ped to improve the capacity and success of diverse initiatives—all of which are necessary and impor­tant endeavors for cultivating and expanding local food systems...

Factors affecting a Philippine peasant community power, poverty & pervasive landlessness

This study uses an actor-oriented approach in political ecology to explore the experience of a Philippine peasant community. Emphasis is placed on human centered and local-level perspectives. The study found that landless peasants are afflicted with a cycle of diaspora-landlessness-poverty that is perpetuated by an existing power dynamic that fuels corruption and violence in the Philippines. This hostile power dynamic is reinforced by the existing free market-oriented agrarian reform program. The current program exists within the dominant agro-export model which heavily supports globalization efforts, indicating that multinational institutions and the world capitalist system are shaping the agrarian sector, agrarian reform policies, and thereby locking Philippine peasants to a life of destitution. Finally, this study explores and advocates for an alternative agrarian reform program, one that supports localization efforts and exists within the food sovereignty model

SD40 School Nourishment Program 2018-2019 Report : Insights about School Lunch Experiences from Three Schools with Pre-existing Lunch Programs During the 2019 Transition to the Fuel Up! School Nourishment Program in New Westminster

In June 2017, New Westminster Schools (known as SD40) passed a motion with the aim of nurturing a school district where “no child is hungry and every child eats healthy” (Board of Education motion, June 2017) . To meet this goal, SD40 partnered with the Fraser Health Authority (FHA) to develop a plan to address documented concerns related to inequitable access to nutritious, culturally appropriate, tasty foods that would be feasible and cost-effective for SD40 schools across the district. SD40 then hired a School Nutrition Coordinator (in September 2018) partnered with a private caterer (Ready Maid Meals) to develop a program called Fuel Up! to provide parents with the option to order school lunches through an online ordering system. In February 2019, Fuel Up! was launched at 3 schools with pre-existing lunch programs. Fifty cents from each full-priced entrée was allocated to support a subsidy program wherein families with significant financial need could apply to receive a full or partial subsidy. Applying for subsidies included providing a brief statement of financial or other needs that reduced their family’s ability to provide a healthy meal for their child(ren). In 2018, SD40 and collaborators from FHA partnered with a research team from the University of British Columbia to better understand the process of implementing this program, and to provide insight into the experiences of students and parents during the initial winter/spring 2019 rollout of the program.Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofNon UBCSociology, Department ofUnreviewedFacultyGraduateOthe